WALES

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by her Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Jones: As at 30 November 2011, there were four staff employed in the Communications team. They each have a mix of duties and so do not fall readily into the roles referred to in the question.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what receptions and events have been hosted by her Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have hosted the following receptions and events:
	16 December 2010: LATCH charity Christmas reception
	1 March 2011: St. David's Day reception
	1 March 2011: LATCH charity St. David's Day reception.
	The following events were sponsored by a third party:
	13 July 2010: BBC Cymru Wales reception
	13 October 2010: Older People's Commissioner for Wales reception
	6 November 2010: Wales in London reception
	28 February 2011: Community Foundation in Wales reception
	21 March 2011: University of Wales Cybersecurity Summit reception
	29 June 2011: National Museum of Wales reception
	9 November 2011: CBI Wales/Sainsbury dinner
	21 November 2011: Probation Trust Wales reception.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any senior staff in her Department are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if she will publish her policy on such payments.

David Jones: No, all staff in the Wales Office have their salaries paid into their personal bank accounts.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

David Jones: The following table shows the number of named day PQs that received a substantive answer within five working days of the date specified.
	
		
			  Named day PQs 
			 June 2011 4 
			 July 2011 2 
			 August 2011 — 
			 September 2011 — 
			 October 2011 2 
			 November 2011 4 
			 Total 12 (100%) 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the 2012 toll rise for the Severn river crossings.

Cheryl Gillan: The toll level for the Severn river crossings is set by a prearranged statutory formula set out in the Severn Bridges Act 1992 and rises automatically each year in line with inflation.

Students: Loans

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the availability of the tuition fees subsidy for Welsh students to students from other EU countries studying in England.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a wide range of issues. Policy on tuition fees is devolved to the Welsh Government and as such we have not discussed the availability of the tuition fees subsidy for Welsh students to students from other EU countries studying in England.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Correspondence

Iain Wright: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to respond to the e-mail of 22 June 2011 from St Hild's School in Hartlepool constituency on lowering the voting age.

David Cameron: A reply has been sent.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Prime Minister what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

David Cameron: All named day written parliamentary questions received a substantive answer within five working days.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 18 October 2011 with regard to Mr A Challenger.

David Cameron: A reply has been sent.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Air Passenger Duty

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has made to HM Treasury on the rate of air passenger duty for direct long-haul passengers departing from airports in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith), on 18 October 2011, Official Report, column 57WS. This set out the Government's position which the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), confirmed again in the autumn statement on 29 November 2011.

Corporation Tax

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what his policy is on the devolution of powers relating to corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with HM Treasury on the devolution of powers over corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I have had regular discussions with ministerial colleagues in HM Treasury on the potential benefits of devolving the power to vary corporation tax rates to the Northern Ireland Assembly. A ministerial working group will meet for the first time on 15 December 2011 to consider in detail the issues raised in response to the recent Government consultation on this issue. The work to be undertaken by this group is necessary to inform any decision on the devolution of powers relating to corporation tax.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

Hugo Swire: Since May 2010, my Department has hosted three receptions. The Northern Ireland Office also manages Hillsborough castle which is used to host garden parties and is also available for use by other Government Departments, community groups and charities.

Departmental Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Owen Paterson: Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available following the completion of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	Since 12 April 2010, as a small Department of less than 200 staff, the Northern Ireland Office receives a range of corporate services under service level agreements from other Departments. It has not outsourced any services to providers outside the civil service.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Owen Paterson: The following table shows the number of named day PQs that received a substantive answer within five working days of the date specified.
	
		
			 2011 Named day PQs 
			 June 5 
			 July 11 
			 August — 
			 September 2 
			 October 0 
			 November 6 
			 Total (Number) 24 
			 Total (Percentage) 96 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Mundell: As of 1 November 2011, the Scotland Office employed a head of communications and a chief press officer on a permanent basis.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

David Mundell: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Date Event 
			 13 May 2010 University of Edinburgh Alumni (James Tait Black Memorial Prize Short List) 
			 27 May 2010 Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland Reception 
			 5 June 2010 King's Own Scottish Borderers Association Reception 
			 9 June 2010 National Trust for Scotland Reception 
			 10 June 2010 Poppyscotland Reception 
			 12 June 2010 Trooping the Colour Reception(1) 
			 25 June 2010 Armed Forces Day Reception(1) 
			 29 June 2010 Budget Seminar(1) 
			 30 June 2010 Energy Leaders Meeting(1) 
			 5 July 2010 John Smith Memorial Event 
			 6 July 2010 National Farmers Union Scotland (Round table meeting)( 1) 
			 26 July 2010 Seminar on the Implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Scottish Devolution(1) 
			 31 August 2010 Edinburgh Festivals Reception(1) 
			 7 October 2010 Rwanda International Development Reception(1) 
			 18 October 2010 Scottish MPs and Peers Reception(1) 
			 19 October 2010 Scottish Financial Services Reception 
			 20 October 2010 Poppyscotland Reception 
			 26 October 2010 CBI Scotland Reception 
			 17 November 2010 Mercy Corps Reception 
			 1 December 2010 Lunch for the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland(1) 
			 15 December 2010 Scotch Whisky Reception 
			 11.January 2011 Scotland Bill Team Reception(1) 
			 19 January 2011 Scotland Food and Drink Reception(1) 
			 2 February 2011 AG Drinks Reception(1) 
			 14 February 2011 Consuls Lunch(1) 
			 23 February 2011 Stakeholder Dinner(1) 
			 2 March 2011 Stakeholder Breakfast(1) 
			 22 March 2011 CBI Reception 
			 30 March 2011 Edinburgh's Festivals Reception 
			 17 May 2011 Institute of Chartered Accountants Reception 
			 19 May 2011 University of Edinburgh 
			 31 May 2011 Big Society Event Cumbernauld(1) 
			 4 June 2011 King's Own Scottish Borderers Association Reception 
			 9 June 2011 Poppyscotland Reception 
			 11 June 2011 Trooping the Colour Reception(1) 
			 14 June 2011 Scotch Whisky Reception in Brussels(1) 
			 14 June 2011 MEPs Dinner in Brussels(1) 
			 15 June 2011 SCDI Reception 
			 23 June 2011 Veterans Reception(1) 
			 28 July 2011 UNHCR Reception(1) 
			 16 August 2011 Edinburgh Festival Reception(1) 
			 1 September 2011 Youth Unemployment Seminar Hawick(1) 
			 5 September 2011 Pre Lords Debate on Scotland Bill Reception(1) 
		
	
	
		
			 13 September 2011 STV Reception 
			 14 September 2011 VisitScotland Reception 
			 18 October 2011 Scottish Financial Enterprise Reception 
			 24 October 2011 Scottish Life Sciences Reception 
			 25 October 2011 CBI Reception 
			 31 October 2011 Institute of Chartered Accountants Reception 
			 1 November 2011 Poppyscotland Reception (Launch of Poppy Appeal) 
			 2 November 2011 Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition Reception 
			 24 November 2011 Regional Youth Unemployment Seminar Falkirk(1) 
			 30 November 2011 Lunch for the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland(1) 
			 (1) Denotes events hosted by Scotland Office Ministers. All other events shown are events sponsored by third parties.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not outsourced any services in the last five years.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not use postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Summertime

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what budget his Department has allocated for the review of moving to central European time in the UK.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not allocated any funding for the review. The Daylight Saving Bill has yet to complete parliamentary consideration. Should the Bill be enacted, we anticipate any costs largely falling in the next financial year. Details of how to allocate expenditure have yet to be considered.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Business

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to help small and medium-sized arts organisations increase their business and marketing skills.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England is running fundraising workshops to help medium-sized arts organisations make a step change in diversifying their income streams by increasing private giving. Business and marketing skills will be addressed at these events.
	In addition this Department, in partnership with Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, has announced details of the £100 million Catalyst scheme to boost private giving to culture. Catalyst Arts and Catalyst Heritage fundraising capacity building grants are open access grant schemes aimed at arts and heritage organisations with little or no fundraising experience. Grants of between £15,000 and £25,000 will be awarded to organisations for the purpose of building fundraising capacity and capability so that they can attract new donors, strengthen their financial resilience and enhance their artistic output or engagement with the public.

Arts: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Arts Council England on increasing the condition of funding for arts organisations that receive public funding.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England (ACE) informed this Department about the overall approach they would be taking in moving from their previous system of Regularly Funded Organisations to one of National Portfolio Organisations and in general terms how they planned to set this out in funding agreements. Conditions on individual funding agreements are a matter for ACE, not Government.

BBC: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the BBC Trust regarding the nomination process for Sports Personality of the Year; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the BBC Trust on the promotion of positive sporting role models in respect of (a) gender and (b) disability; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the BBC Trust on the range of sports to which the BBC gives airtime; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not had any discussions with the BBC Trust on these matters.

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

John Penrose: This Department has not awarded any contracts to Capita since May 2010.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

John Penrose: There are no senior civil servants in this Department or its Executive agency, the Royal Parks, who are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary. We do not collate this information for our non-departmental bodies. Accordingly I have asked each of their chief executives to write directly to the Member for Harrow West. Copies of the replies will be placed in both House Libraries.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: The Department has outsourced the following services in the last five years:
	
		
			  Service outsourced Company outsourced to: 
			 2007 The Department's managed IT service Atos 
			 2008 No services outsourced n/a 
			 2009 The Department's financial and accounting transactional service Liberata 
			 2010 The Department's Facilities Management (Carillion) and Mailroom Services (Ecovert) Carillion and Ecovert 
			 2011 No services outsourced n/a

Departmental Responsibilities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) museums and art galleries, (b) music teachers and schools, (c) ballet and dance schools, (d) theatres and concert halls, (e) drama schools and (f) libraries he expects to be operational in each of the English regions in each of the next four years.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has not made any estimate of future numbers of museums and art galleries; music teachers and schools; ballet and dance schools; theatre and concert halls; drama schools and libraries.
	Information on the current provision of library services in each of the English regions is held in the House Libraries. We publish visits to all the sponsored museums and galleries:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/museums_and_galleries/3375.aspx
	Arts Council England reports that currently there are 1,699 accredited museums in the UK:
	http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/Statistical_Report_2011_11_04_Accreditation_Final.pdf
	The Department will continue to monitor participation in all cultural activities through the Taking Part Survey.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

John Penrose: The proportion of named day parliamentary questions which received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Answered within five working days  
			  Total number of named day questions Number Percentage Answered after five working days 
			 June 60 59 98 1 
			 July 66 65 98 1 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 22 22 100 0 
			 October 55 53 96 2 
			 November 49 49 100 0 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Music: Curriculum

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education concerning the inclusion of music in the National Curriculum.

Jeremy Hunt: The Minister for Culture, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), and I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), on a range of issues including music education.

National Lottery: Grants

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of National Lottery grant applications in deprived areas.

John Penrose: The Lottery distributing bodies—rightly—make their funding decisions independently of Government. I understand they are working actively to encourage applications from deprived areas and ‘cold spots' that have received little Lottery funding.

National Lottery: Grants

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with National Lottery grants distribution bodies about the process for grants awards after the London 2012 Olympics.

John Penrose: I have had no such discussion as the Lottery distributors make their funding decisions independently of Government, against their published criteria for particular programmes, and this process will not change after the London 2012 Olympic Games.

National Lottery: Grants

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the ratio is of National Lottery funding given in grants in (a) Liverpool, Walton, (b) Sunderland Central and (c) Ashfield constituencies to how much is spent in those constituencies on National Lottery tickets.

John Penrose: The distribution of National Lottery grants is based on need for funds in each good cause and the impact that the funding could have in each case, rather than on the volume of ticket sales or on other criteria. I understand that Camelot does not collect data on National Lottery spend by constituency, but detail on Lottery grants awarded is available and is searchable at:
	http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk/

Olympic Games 2012: Mass Media

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that local media organisations have adequate access to cover the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: The British Olympic Association (BOA), as the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is responsible for allocating accreditation for the Olympic games for media based in the United Kingdom. I am corresponding with Lord Moynihan, chairman of the BOA, to request if further accreditations can be made available. A copy of the most recent letter from Lord Moynihan to the Minister for Sport and the Olympics on this matter has been placed in the House Libraries.

Olympic Games 2012: Scotland

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of residents in Banff and Buchan reside within (a) 10 miles and (b) 20 miles of the route of the Olympic Flame.

Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is responsible for the Olympic torch relay route.
	LOCOG did not devise the route by constituency, and as such, they have not measured the proportion of residents on a constituency basis.
	The communities through which the torch will pass were published on 7 November 2011, bringing the Olympic flame to within 10 miles of 95% of the UK population. Further detail can be found at:
	http://www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay
	Over a period of 70 days it is not possible for the Olympic flame to visit every community. As you will see from the published route the torch does not pass through Banff and Buchan, but will go close by, on its journey between Inverness and Aberdeen, and residents are invited to celebrations along this route. The street-level route of the Olympic torch relay will be confirmed nearer to the time of the relay.
	The locations directly on the route were selected after two years of extensive UK-wide consultation, including with the Scottish Government but also local authorities and representatives of the tourism, heritage, sustainability, culture, education and sport sectors. A Scotland Torch Advisory Group was set up to support the delivery of an operationally feasible route that visits as many people and communities as possible, without regard to political constituency boundaries.

Overseas Visitors

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of overseas visitors likely to visit the UK in each of the next 10 years.

John Penrose: An estimate of the contribution that overseas visitors will make to the UK economy by 2020 is included in a report which was undertaken by Deloitte last year. Their analysis (at chapter 6) can be found on VisitBritain's website by using the following link:
	http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/Economic%20case%20for %20the%20Visitor%20Economy%20-%20Phase%202%20-%2026%20July%202010%20-%20FINAL_tcm29-14561.pdf
	The Government are committed to ensuring that the UK tourism industry creates a sustainable legacy as a result of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Over the next four years, VisitBritain will invest around £127 million in a new international marketing programme which is expected to deliver 4.6 million extra visitors from overseas and £2.27 billion in extra visitor spend.

Public Libraries: Fees and Charges

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many county councils charge for the borrowing of audio books from libraries.

Edward Vaizey: The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 prevents libraries from charging for the loan of material in a form which is readable without the use of electronic apparatus. Library authorities can therefore lawfully charge to lend audio books and other audio-visual material (music, films etc.).
	While information on the number of authorities that do so is not collected centrally, figures showing income derived from audio-visual lending are included in the annual statistical report on public library services produced by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and information is available at local authority level. Where no data are provided this may indicate that the authority does not generate income from audio-visual loans. CIPFA reports are available in the House Libraries.

Video Games: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers on the implementation of the Next Gen report for the (a) video games and (b) visual effects industry in Wales.

Edward Vaizey: I have had no meetings with Welsh Ministers specifically on the Next Gen report. However, in producing the Government's response to Next Gen (published 28 November) my officials engaged with all Government Departments, and representatives of the devolved Administrations, in considering the implications of the recommendations across the UK.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to reinstate the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Richard Benyon: We have no plans to reinstate the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what subsidies have been identified as environmentally harmful under the (a) framework of the Nagoya summit on biodiversity, (b) G-20 Pittsburgh summit and (c) Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe of the European Commission; and what steps she is taking to phase out support for such subsidies.

Richard Benyon: The Nagoya meeting for the convention on biological diversity in October 2011 agreed a new Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-20. Under this, target 3 requests that by 2020 at the latest, incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity are eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts, and positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are developed and applied, consistent and in harmony with the convention and other relevant international obligations, taking into account national socio-economic conditions. DEFRA is currently examining the requirements under this commitment, along with the other commitments agreed at this meeting. However, we have not yet identified any subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity.
	With reference to the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, we are still committed to the aim to:
	“phase out and rationalize over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies while providing targeted support for the poorest.”
	The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, published on 20 September 2011, proposes a new pathway to action on resource efficiency. It proposes addressing markets and prices, taxes and subsidies that do not reflect the real costs of resource use and which lock the economy into an unsustainable path. The Commission's vision is to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020, with due regard to the impact on people in need.
	The Government are examining the Commission's Communication. We support the aim of addressing environmentally harmful subsidies and will work constructively with the Commission and other member states to reduce them significantly. However, we may wish to retain some flexibility, for example, to address issues such as fuel poverty.

Agriculture: Water Abstraction

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of national freshwater resource is extracted for use in agriculture.

Richard Benyon: Agriculture uses approximately 1% of abstracted water resources in England and Wales, although this masks significant seasonal and regional differences. In East Anglia, for example, agriculture uses 16% of abstracted water.

Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the condition of habitats in England.

Richard Benyon: In May 2012, we will publish the latest condition assessments available for priority habitats in England. This will update the previous 2007 assessment of progress on targets within the former England Biodiversity Strategy, and contribute to the suite of indicators for measuring progress with ‘Biodiversity 2020: a strategy for England's wildlife and ecosystem services’. Natural England will pilot a new programme of habitat surveillance next year, which will lead to ongoing improvements in the quality of our information on the condition of habitats in England.

Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the results of the review of the current set of biodiversity indicators.

Richard Benyon: The results of the review will be published with the new biodiversity indicator set in May 2012.

Bovine Tuberculosis

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what new scientific evidence has emerged since the Bovine TB Eradication Group for England issued its report on Developing a Bovine TB Eradication Programme for England in October 2009.

James Paice: There is a large amount of ongoing research into the epidemiology of TB and the development and evaluation of potential methods of controlling the disease, both within DEFRA's research programme and through other funding sources (such as the research councils) and new evidence is constantly becoming available.
	A significant source of new evidence on culling badgers comes from the ongoing monitoring of TB incidence in the areas of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial. Ongoing monitoring since the end of the RBCT shows that the positive effect of culling on herd breakdowns was maintained for at least 5.5 years after culling stopped and that the negative effect on confirmed herd breakdowns on surrounding land disappeared by 12-18 months after culling stopped. When cattle TB incidence figures from the period after culling are included, the benefits of proactive culling are greater than those observed during the trial itself.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason farmers in England receive more compensation for non-pedigree cattle over 36 months old affected by bovine TB than for pedigree cattle.

James Paice: Compensation for most TB affected cattle is determined objectively through table valuations which are true average open market prices for same category animals. To support table valuations, sales data are collected from a large number and wide range of sources.
	A higher compensation rate for non-pedigree cattle (in the same category) will be a reflection of the underlying sales data. Although unusual, we do see this occasionally in a small number of categories, including the one highlighted in the question.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings she has had on dangerous dogs since May 2010; and what meetings she plans to have in the next three months.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman) and her ministerial team have held numerous meetings between June 2010 and September 2011 to discuss issues including dangerous dogs with various groups and organisations including: the Dogs Trust; The Dog Advisory Council; the Communication Workers Union; the RSPCA; Battersea Dogs and Cats Home; Blue Cross; and the Assistant Chief Constable of the North Wales Police Force.
	A recent stakeholder meeting on irresponsible dog ownership was chaired by my noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, on 15 November 2011.
	Ministers will continue to meet with relevant stakeholders on this issue as part of our ongoing programme of engagement.

Dangerous Dogs

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last met individuals injured in dangerous dog attacks.

James Paice: There are no records of Ministers having met directly with individuals injured in dangerous dog attacks. However, meetings have been held, including recently, with representatives of organisations who represent victims of dog attacks, such as the Communication Workers' Union.

Advertising: Job Vacancies

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has spent £4,173.93 on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Departmental Allowances

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much members of her departmental management board have claimed in expenses since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: Business costs for directors generals, the permanent secretary and non-executive directors of the departmental board in DEFRA are published and updated quarterly on the DEFRA website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/who/management/
	Details for quarters April to June 2011 and July to September 2011 will be published in due course.

Departmental Correspondence

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has received representations concerning (a) the Big Society Bank, (b) the Work Programme and (c) volunteering since June 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Since June 2011, neither the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), nor I have received any representations on the Big Society Bank or the Work programme. One representation has been received with respect to volunteering—a letter from Tom Flood, chief executive of BTCV (formerly the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), providing information about and requesting support for BTCV's Carbon Army Big Green Weekend.

Departmental Flags

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2010, Official Report, column 207W, on departmental flags, whether her Department has flown the Union flag each day of the year at each official building for which her Department is responsible which has a flag pole since June 2010.

Richard Benyon: The Department adheres to the current published guidance issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport for flying the Union flag in respect of those premises having a flag pole under departmental management control.
	The current guidance is available to view at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/honours/7124.aspx

Freedom of Information

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 her Department has received in each month since May 2010; how many responses given in each such month disclosed (a) the full information requested, (b) part of the information requested, with some information withheld under exemptions in the Act and (c) none of the information requested; and in respect of how many requests received in each such month (i) (A) substantive and (B) holding responses were issued within 20 working days of the date of receipt, (ii) no substantive response was issued within 40 working days of the date of receipt and (iii) no substantive response has yet been issued.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is set out in the following table. Comprehensive statistics will be published by the Ministry of Justice for the third and fourth quarters of 2011 in due course.
	
		
			  Fully disclosed Partial No disclosure 20 days Extension No reply in 40 No reply yet 
			 May 2010 20 4 3 31 0 0 0 
			 June 2010 14 4 5 27 4 2 0 
			 July 2010 20 4 3 27 1 1 0 
			 August 2010 27 2 1 41 3 1 0 
			 September 2010 16 5 3 30 2 2 0 
			 October 2010 20 5 2 29 1 4 0 
			 November 2010 24 5 2 32 1 0 0 
			 December 2010 19 5 3 26 2 1 0 
			 January 2011 16 3 3 27 0 0 0 
			 February 2011 31 2 4 41 1 1 0 
			 March 2011 17 3 5 28 1 4 0 
			 April 2011 11 2 3 23 1 1 0 
			 May 2011 20 4 3 31 0 0 0 
			 June 2011 27 5 5 34 7 2 0

Freedom of Information

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in respect of how many responses to requests for information received by her Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the reason of (a) commercially sensitive information, (b) information not held, (c) information too costly to provide and (d) vexatious or repeated requests has been given in response since January 2010.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is set out in the following table. Comprehensive statistics for the third and fourth quarters of 2011 will be published by the Ministry of Justice in due course.
	
		
			  Commercially sensitive information Not held Too costly Vex/repeated 
			 2010     
			 May 0 4 3 0 
			 June 2 3 1 0 
			 July 0 4 3 0 
			 August 0 5 0 0 
			 September 1 6 1 0 
			 October 1 6 2 0 
			 November 0 2 2 0 
			 December 0 2 1 0 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 0 7 1 0 
			 February 1 3 1 0 
			 March 1 4 2 0 
			 April 0 5 2 0 
			 May 0 6 3 0 
			 June 1 4 1 0

Freedom of Information

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Minister in her Department is responsible for determining whether exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 should apply to responses to requests for information under the Act; and which other Minister is responsible for making such determinations should the subject matter of the request fall within the ministerial responsibilities of the Minister with lead responsibility.

Richard Benyon: Responsibility for the decision rests with the business area which holds the information. No additional clearance will be required for the release of routine and non-sensitive information. However, releases of sensitive information, or cases where exemptions were considered, will always require sign-off at a responsible official level and from time to time, in cases involving policy development, at ministerial level.
	For cases where the “reasonable opinion of a qualified person” is necessary, e.g. under section 36(2) and (3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the qualified person is “any Minister of the Crown” (section 36(5)(a)), and the Minister with lead responsibility for that area would take the decision.

Departmental Responsibilities

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the lead Minister in her Department is for (a) infectious diseases: animal and plant, (b) flooding and (c) food and water workstream of the Capabilities Programme.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), leads overall on emergencies. I, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Natural Environment and Fisheries, am responsible for the flooding and water work streams of the Capabilities Programme. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food, my right hon. Friend the Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), leads on food and animal disease. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Lord Taylor, has ministerial responsibility for plant diseases, however, this is not part of the Capabilities Programme.

Earth Summit 2012

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation she plans to undertake on her policy for the Rio Earth Summit 2012.

Richard Benyon: Rio+20, the UN Conference on sustainable development in June 2012, is an opportunity to agree specific steps to help the global economy make the transition to greener growth. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), is leading the Government's preparations for Rio+20, and as part of this is engaged with partners across Government, business, civil society, in the EU, and with key international partners. We will shortly be responding to the Environmental Audit Committee's report on Rio+20.

Fisheries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the monetary value of fish caught by the 10 metre and under fleet was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The monetary value of fish caught by the UK 10 metre and under fleet in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			  Value (£ million) 
			 2006 75.0 
			 2007 87.1 
			 2008 85.4 
			 2009 76.9 
			 2010 79.9 
			 Source: Marine Management Organisation 2011 
		
	
	Work is currently under way to reform the fisheries management arrangements in England, with the aim of securing a more profitable, sustainable and unified fishing industry in the long term. It specifically seeks to tackle some of the difficulties currently facing the English under-10 metre fleet.
	We are aiming to set up some pilot groups next year, to trial alternative management approaches for the under-10 metre fleet. Part of this work will look at ways to improve the marketing of the catch to increase profitability of the fishermen involved. The pilots will contribute to decisions on the final reform package.

Fishing Catches

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the proposals in the 2012 draft common fisheries policy to ban discards of certain species which are believed to have a good chance of survival if discarded promptly.

Richard Benyon: The UK Government strongly support the European Commission's ambition in seeking to end the wasteful practice of discarding of dead and dying fish, which has rightly attracted so much public interest. Through a reformed common fisheries policy (CFP) we need a flexible regulatory framework that drives the necessary changes in fishing activity and behaviour to end these discards.
	There are some species which have a good chance of surviving if discarded, and it is important that the provisions of the CFP reflect this.

Fuels: Waste

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much refuse derived fuel was exported in 2010.

Richard Benyon: In England and Wales, 13,247 tonnes of exported refuse derived fuel was received at recovery facilities between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010. 98,500 tonnes of exported refuse derived fuel was shipped under notifications permits consented to between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010.

Marine Conservation Zones

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional work her Department has commissioned to support the designation of marine conservation zones; and if she will publish the terms of reference of any such work.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is commissioning an in-depth review of evidence available for the recommended Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to ensure that all the relevant evidence has been gathered and used appropriately.
	Discussions are under way between DEFRA and delivery partners on the best approach to commissioning additional sea bed and habitat monitoring in English waters to ensure we make the best use of the additional funding to support marine conservation zone designation.
	The terms of reference will be published on the DEFRA website in due course when they have been agreed.

Marine Conservation Zones

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weighting she plans to give to (a) social, (b) economic and (c) environmental consequences when designating marine conservation zones.

Richard Benyon: The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 allows for social and economic factors to be taken into account when deciding where marine conservation zones (MCZs) should be located, and what associated management measures will be implemented to meet their conservation objectives. The Government are aiming to designate sites and identify possible management measures that will meet the site's conservation objectives while having the least social and economic impact, as the Government want to achieve the right combination of environmental care and sustainable economic development in their decisions to implement the Act.
	The weight to be attached to socio-economic interests will depend on a number of factors and will need to be considered in the light of the particular circumstances that apply in each area. Where areas contain features which are rare, threatened or declining and come with limited options for their location, ecological considerations are likely to carry greater weight in considering the area's suitability for designation as an MCZ.

Natural Capital Committee

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how frequently she expects the Natural Capital Committee to report to Government;
	(2)  whether the Natural Capital Committee's advice to Government will be laid before Parliament;
	(3)  whether the Government plan to respond publicly to the advice they receive from the Natural Capital Committee.

Richard Benyon: The Natural Capital Committee will advise the Government on the state of English natural capital and it will be set up initially for the duration of this Parliament. The work of the committee will be available to Parliament and will be set out in a series of reports. The Economic Affairs Committee will be the recipient of the reports and advice from the Natural Capital Committee, and it will consider how the Government might best respond. All the advice from the Natural Capital Committee to the Government will be made public.

Nature Conservation: British Overseas Territories

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to protect critically endangered species in British overseas territories.

Richard Benyon: The Government’s Darwin Initiative provides strong support to conservation work in the UK overseas territories (UKOTs) and has a specific funding stream for the UKOTs. To date, the Darwin Initiative has committed over £3.8 million towards conservation projects in the UKOTs through 33 projects. The Darwin Challenge Fund ear-marked £1.5 million for the period 2009-12 to provide funding for scoping potential projects in the UKOTs.
	We also provide funding for specific projects to support conservation in UKOTs. For example, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), announced a contribution of £200,000 at last year’s Nagoya Biodiversity conference, towards rodent eradication on the world heritage site of Henderson Island in the Pitcairn group of islands, which hosts many endangered species of birds, including the Henderson petrel. In addition, I announced at the Overseas Territories Consultative Council, which took place on 24 November 2011, a commitment of just under £400,000 towards initiatives in the UKOTs, including a £250,000 contribution towards the RSPB’s initiative to eradicate mice on Gough Island, which is a site of international significance for breeding seabirds. We are also currently funding three research projects on the control of non-native invasive species in UKOTs in the south Atlantic, at a cost of £223,000.
	DEFRA supports a range of other initiatives benefiting biodiversity in the UKOTs, such as the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels co-ordinator post promoting implementation of the agreement in the UK south Atlantic territories.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have resulted from detection by the National Wildlife Crime Unit in each of the last four years.

Richard Benyon: The Ministry of Justice court proceedings database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought, but not all the circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify the proceedings resulting from detection by a specific agency from the centrally held data.

Rural Areas: Broadband

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the £20 million to be provided for the Rural Community Broadband Fund is being provided by (a) Broadband Delivery UK and (b) the Rural Development Programme for England.

Richard Benyon: The Rural Community Broadband Fund is made up of £10 million of European funding from the Rural Development Programme for England and £10 million of Exchequer funding from Broadband Delivery UK.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often sites of special scientific interest are monitored that are considered as high risk.

Richard Benyon: The monitoring of sites of special scientific interest follows a risk based cycle, with a frequency of every four years for those identified as high risk.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has a target for the number of sites of special scientific interest that should be in favourable condition by the end of the Parliament.

Richard Benyon: The new England Biodiversity Strategy includes the outcome that by 2020, at least 50% of the area of England's sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) should be in favourable condition. There is no specific target for the number of SSSIs being in favourable condition by the end of this Parliament.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many sites of special scientific interest are considered to be at high risk.

Richard Benyon: As of 29 November 2011, Natural England assessed that 820 of England's 4,113 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are at risk of a decline in condition from either unfavourable recovering or favourable; this equates to 23% of the 1.04 million hectare area of SSSIs.
	Natural England uses condition assessment and other site based work, to identify and record risks to site condition, facilitating follow up work with partners and land managers to address relevant issues.

Water

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to encourage improved water efficiency in (a) industrial processes and (b) commercial buildings.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA manages the ‘Water Technology List’, which specifies water efficient products and systems covering a range of industrial and commercial applications. Businesses that purchase items on the list are eligible for an enhanced capital allowance of 100% in the first year of operation. In the food and drink sector, DEFRA’s delivery body, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) works with the Food and Drink Federation, to deliver the Federation House Commitment, which helps companies reduce their water usage. WRAP continues to catalyse water savings through inter-business transfers of resources through the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme.
	In respect of commercial buildings, WRAP has published model specifications that enable organisations to specify water efficiency outcomes when procuring new buildings, or facilities management services for existing buildings. Further work in this area will integrate water efficiency with a more comprehensive set of model specifications, resource management templates and tools.

Water Abstraction

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has made an estimate of the likely available national annual water resource up to 2050.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has recently been working to explore the future availability of water for abstraction in 2050 in England and Wales under a range of different scenarios of climate change, water demand and water flows required for the environment. This will be published in December, in parallel with the Water White Paper as part of the underpinning evidence base.

Water Abstraction

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the annual level of water withdrawals exceeding 40 per cent. of the available national water resource in the future; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has done some recent work for DEFRA to explore future availability of water for abstraction in 2050 in England and Wales under a range of different scenarios of climate change, water demand and water flows required for the environment. This will be published in December, in parallel with the Water White Paper as part of the underpinning evidence base.

Water Abstraction

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the annual water withdrawal as a proportion of available water resource nationally.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency's 2009 assessment found that for the majority of England, approximately 10% of available water resources are withdrawn for abstraction; for the South and East of England the proportion is just over 20%. Less than 5% of available water resources are withdrawn for abstraction in Wales.

Departmental Written Questions

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to answer question 74208 tabled by the hon. Member for Dundee East on 10 October 2011.

Richard Benyon: I answered the hon. Member's question on 30 November 2011, Official Report, column 944W.

Departmental Written Questions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to answer question 74898 tabled by the hon. Member for Angus on 12 October 2011 on London weighting and London living allowance.

Richard Benyon: I answered the hon. Member's question on 30 November 2011, Official Report, column 943W.

JUSTICE

Appeals

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2011, Official Report, column 404W, on appeals, how many appeal cases were heard (a) with and (b) without legal representation in each category in 2010-11; and in what proportion of cases (i) with and (ii) without legal representation the original ruling was upheld.

Jonathan Djanogly: It has not been possible to collate the number of cases heard and the proportion of cases upheld within the time available. However, I will write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Ashfield Prison: Reoffenders

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who participated in the project run by 2nd Chance at HM Prison Ashfield reoffended following release; what proportion of the total number of participants this represents; and what the average reoffending rate for people who have served a sentence at HM Prison Ashfield was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The reoffending data MOJ produces do not identify offenders who participated in a project run by 2nd Chance. Therefore reoffending rates cannot be calculated for these offenders.
	The following table shows the proven reoffending rates for adults (aged 18 or over) and juveniles (aged 10 to 17) who reoffended within one year of being released from HM prison Ashfield between January and December 2009.
	
		
			   Number of offenders Reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 Adults Sentence less than 12 months 40 65.0 
			  Sentence of 12 months or more juveniles 53 54.7 
			     
			 Juveniles  334 72.5 
		
	
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow up. Following this one year period, a further six months is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.

Birmingham Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expenditure has been incurred by his Department on new locks at HM Prison Birmingham since G4S took over the running of that prison.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not incurred expenditure on new locks at HM Birmingham since G4S took over the running of that prison.

Birmingham Prison

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was to (a) his Department and (b) the National Offender Management Service of preparing for HM Prison Birmingham to be operated by G4S.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not hold the requested information for the individual competitions for the five establishments (HMP Birmingham, HMP Buckley Hall, HMP Doncaster, HMP Featherstone 2, and HMP Wellingborough), as these competitions were managed as one programme to ensure the most efficient use of resources. I am able to provide actual and estimated aggregated costs for these five prisons as follows.
	The costs supplied as follows are the most accurate that we can provide. Staff costs are based upon the person-hours that have been charged to the project for budget purposes. Generally, neither the Ministry of Justice nor NOMS implement time sheets. Therefore, it is not possible to attribute costs to the project for the actual hours worked, as this information is not known.
	The costs of all contracts included in the ‘other costs' category are actual costs.
	All costs are given to two significant figures.
	(A) For their contribution to the work on the competitions for the five prisons listed above, we estimate the combined spending of Ministry of Justice Procurement and Ministry of Justice ICT to be:
	(i) £750,000 on staff;
	(ii) £0 on travel and subsistence; and
	(iii) £1,600,000 on other costs
	(B) The overall agreed value of the Public Sector Bids Unit/Business Development Unit for prison competitions was £1,100,000. It is not possible to provide details of actual spending for the reasons described in my earlier response of 17 October 2011, Official Report, column 669W.
	(C) For their contribution to the work on the competitions for the five prisons, we estimate that the combined spending of NOMS Business and Service Development Group, NOMS ICT and Estates is:
	(i) £830,000 on staff;
	(ii) £86,000 on travel and subsistence; and
	(iii) £800,000 on other costs.
	Operational input to supplier dialogue and evaluation phase have been excluded from these costs for Estates.

Chelmsford Prison: Foreign Nationals

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals remained at Chelmsford Prison after completing their prison sentences in each of the last five years; for what length of time; at what cost to the public purse in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply.
	Establishing how many foreign national offenders in the last five years remained at HMP Chelmsford under immigration detention beyond the end of their custodial sentence and the length of time they were detained would require cross referencing a large volume of electronic records and this would incur a disproportionate cost.
	It costs the UK Border Agency £102 per night to keep an individual in immigration detention.

Courts: Security

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints HM Courts and Tribunals Service have received on the conduct of security staff contracted from MITIE in the last 12 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) records all complaints and is able to identify which of these complaints relate to staff conduct. However, it is not possible to identify how many of these complaints are about MITIE security staff within the cost threshold. HMCTS uses MITIE security staff at approximately 500 venues and would have to examine the complaints for each of these venues to establish how many were about security staff.
	HMCTS investigates all complaints made about the conduct of staff. Our contracts with MITIE specify the requirements for security staff employed on the contract, and HMCTS refers all complaints against MITIE contracted staff to MITIE for joint investigation at the location in which the incident took place. However, there is no operational requirement for MITIE to record the number of complaints made against them either regionally or centrally, so it is not possible to identify how many complaints have been reported at each individual court and hearing centre within the cost threshold.

Crown Lands and Estates: Cornwall

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice from which category of Crown land fee simple owners in Cornwall hold title to their properties.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Crown is the ultimate owner of all land in England and Wales, including Cornwall. The owner of a fee simple holds the land of his or her feudal lord by the tenure of free and common socage for an estate in fee simple. For most purposes the identity of the relevant lord is immaterial as directly or indirectly the land will be held of the Crown. If a freehold estate in land determines, so that the land escheats, it will pass, depending on its location, to the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall. The possessions of the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster are considered to be held of the Crown even when the Duchy is vested in the Crown.

Cybercrime: Sentencing

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to extend the imprisonment term for people found guilty of breaching section 127(3) of the Communications Act 2003.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have no plans to extend the imprisonment term for people found guilty of breaching section 127(3) of the Communications Act 2003.

Departmental Internet

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total cost to the public purse was of developing the You be the Judge interactive facility on his Department's website.

Crispin Blunt: The total cost of developing You be the Judge was £56,403.60 (excl. VAT) which was incurred for script-writing and production of the videos. Web design and coding were undertaken in-house by MOJ staff at no extra cost.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not have a set policy on the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review but will normally seek an order for costs where successful on the claim. The majority of litigants are legally aided and in relation to them an order is not enforced unless there is a change in financial circumstances. Even where funds are potentially available, Departments make an assessment on a case by case basis as to whether securing payment will be cost-effective when the costs of enforcement are taken into account.

Magistrates Courts: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates' courts premises in Wales he expects to make available for (a) sale, (b) rent and (c) uses other than as court houses.

Jonathan Djanogly: 11 magistrates courts premises in Wales have been identified as being surplus. All will be sold for alternative usage.

Malicious Communications Act 1988

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 there have been; and what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of such prosecutions and convictions which relate to messages sent via the internet.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 in England and Wales, from 2006-10 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	Information held on the Ministry of Justice court proceedings database does not identify those proceedings under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 which specifically relate to messages sent via the internet.
	Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in spring 2012.
	
		
			 Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, England and Wales, 2006-10 (1, 2, 3) 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Statute Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty 
			 Malicious Communications Act 1988 182 121 251 166 329 245 507 396 694 498 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice.

Offenders: Community Care

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) violent criminals, (b) sex offenders and (c) sex offenders with convictions relating to paedophilia have been released into the community from mental health facilities in each of the last five years; and what proportion have subsequently reoffended in each such year.

Crispin Blunt: The Mental Health Act 1983 makes provision for mentally disordered offenders convicted of any imprisonable offence except murder to be sent to hospital for treatment for their mental disorder as an alternative to custody. The higher courts may also impose a restriction order, if this is necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm.
	All offenders sentenced to a hospital order have the right to have their detention reviewed by an independent tribunal. In addition, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), may discharge “restricted patients”, while “unrestricted patients” may be discharged, if their responsible clinician considers that they no longer require treatment in hospital.
	Figures on the number of unrestricted patients discharged from hospital are not collated centrally. The following table sets out the number of all restricted patients discharged from hospital in each of the past five years:
	
		
			 Discharges from hospital 
			  Number 
			 2006 375 
			 2007 381 
			 2008 416 
			 2009 413 
			 2010 509 
		
	
	Systems do not enable these figures to be broken down into the categories requested.
	Among all restricted patients who were discharged from hospital for the first time between 1999 and 2007, 5.8% were reconvicted within two years of their discharge.
	Figures on reconviction rates for unrestricted patients are not collated centrally.
	Prior to discharge from hospital, patients will have increasing access to the community by means of community leave. This is an important part of rehabilitation. No restricted patient may access the community without the permission of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will grant permission only after a thorough risk assessment based on the clinical evidence available in each case.

Perjury: International Co-operation

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the requirements of Chapter 2 Article 5 Section 3 of the United Nations Convention in respect of measures to prevent perjury by experts in secret court hearings.

Jonathan Djanogly: Article 5(3) of the United Nations convention against corruption requires state parties to:
	“endeavour to periodically evaluate relevant legal instruments and administrative measures with a view to determining their adequacy to prevent and fight corruption.”
	The offences in the Bribery Act 2010, which came into force on 1 July 2011, are capable of applying to conduct in connection with court proceedings which amounts to bribery. There are, in addition, a number of offences which deal specifically with perjury, set out, for example, in the Perjury Act 1911. Together with judicial oversight and the appeals process the Government consider these measures are adequate to deal with both perjury and bribery which arise in court proceedings.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 578W, on prison accommodation 
	(1)  if he will provide a breakdown on the new prisons accommodation which became available between 29 July and 18 November 2011;
	(2)  what proportion of the increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells between 29 July and 18 November 2011 was in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons.

Crispin Blunt: The answer that I provided the right hon. Member on 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 578W, identified that between Friday 29 July and Friday 18 November 2011 338 places were delivered as a result of new prison accommodation becoming available and 630 places were delivered as a result of an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells.
	The 338 new places were delivered at HMP Erlestoke (124 places) and HMP Stocken (214 places).
	Of the 630 places delivered as a result of an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells, 117 places were delivered in privately run prisons, with the remaining 513 places delivered in publicly run prisons. These constituted contingency accommodation in response to population pressure following widespread public disorder in August, the majority of which have since been de-activated.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much increased operational capacity in each prison in England and Wales was due to (a) new prison accommodation becoming available, (b) existing accommodation being returned to use, (c) an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells and (d) other measures between 1 May 2010 and 31 July 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Between 30 April 2010 and 29 July 2011 the operational capacity of the total prison estate increased by a net 766 places, comprising 4,572 increases and 3,806 decreases. The following table breaks down the increases in accommodation by (a) new prison accommodation becoming available, (b) existing accommodation being returned to use, (c) an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells and (d) other measures
	
		
			  Number 
			 (a) new prison accommodation becoming available 2,329 
			 (b) existing accommodation being returned to use 1,044 
			 (c) an increase in multiple occupancy of prison cells 203 
			 (d) other measures (these are places returning to use following change of function and those places reclaimed for use as prisoner accommodation) 996 
			 Total 4,572 
		
	
	The table does not reflect those places that have been taken out of use during this period. Places can be taken out of use for a number of reasons. These include the operational closures of HMPs Ashwell, Lancaster Castle and Morton Hall (which later returned to use as an immigration removal centre). Other decreases are the result of accommodation being taken out of use for essential maintenance or refurbishment, these include places taken out of use following prisoner damage.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what existing unused prison accommodation was brought back into use in each prison in each month from 1 May 2010 to 1 November 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The following table identifies that between Friday 30 April 2010 and Friday 28 October 2011 1,828 places were delivered as a result of existing accommodation returning to use.
	The places identified in the table include places returning to use following maintenance or refurbishment and places returning to use following prisoner damage.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Existing accommodation being returned to use between Friday 30 April 2010 and Friday 28 October 2011 
			  2010 2011 
			 Prison May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 
			 Bedford — — 6 — — — — — — — 
			 Belmarsh — — — — 31 — — — — — 
			 Birmingham — — 5 — — — — — — — 
			 Bristol — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bullingdon — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Chelmsford — — — — 55 — — — — — 
			 Dartmoor — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Elmley — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Featherstone — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ford — — — — — — — — — 24 
			 Guys Marsh — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Haslar — — — — — — 11 — — 26 
			 Hindley — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Holloway — — — — — — — — 2 — 
			 Holme House — — — — — — 112 — — — 
			 Leeds — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lewes — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Leyhill — — — — — — 2 — — — 
			 Lindholme — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lindholme (IRC) — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Littlehey — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Liverpool — — — — — — — — — 13 
			 Long Lartin — — — — — — — 6 — — 
			 Low Newton — 8 — 12 — — — — — — 
			 Moorland — — — — 13 — — — — — 
			 New Hall — — — — — — 6 — — — 
			 Northallerton — — — — — — — — 10 — 
			 Parkhurst — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Pentonville — — — — — — — — —  
			 Rochester — — — — — — — — — 9 
			 Send — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Spring Hill — — — — —  — 4  — 
			 Stoke Heath — — — — 40 18 — — — — 
			 Swaleside 114 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Swansea 20 — — — — — — — — — 
			 The Verne — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wellingborough — — — — 32 — — — — — 
			 Wetherby — — — — — 12 20 — — — 
			 Whaton — — — — — — 20 — — — 
			 Whatton — — — 25 — — — — — — 
			 Whitemoor — — 4 — — — — — — 6 
			 Winchester — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 134 8 15 37 171 30 171 10 12 78 
		
	
	
		
			  2011  
			 Prison Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Total 
			 Bedford — — — — — — — — 6 
			 Belmarsh — — — — — — — — 31 
			 Birmingham — — — — — — — — 5 
			 Bristol — 8 — — — — — — 8 
			 Bullingdon — — 6 — — — — — 6 
			 Chelmsford — — — — — — — — 55 
			 Dartmoor — — — — 4 — 4 90 98 
			 Elmley 18 — — — — — — — 18 
		
	
	
		
			 Featherstone — — — — 32 — — — 32 
			 Ford 52 — — — — — — — 76 
			 Guys Marsh — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Haslar — — — — — — — — 37 
			 Hindley — — — — — — — 66 66 
			 Holloway 20 — — — — — — — 22 
			 Holme House — — — — — — — — 112 
			 Leeds — — — — — 40 — — 40 
			 Lewes — — — — — 100 107 7 214 
			 Leyhill — — — — — — 32 — 34 
			 Lindholme 16 — — — — — 1 — 17 
			 Lindholme (IRC) — — — — 2 4 — — 6 
			 Littlehey — — — — — — — 60 60 
			 Liverpool — — — 12 — — — — 25 
			 Long Lartin — — — — — — — — 6 
			 Low Newton — — 30 24 — — — — 74 
			 Moorland — — — — 25 75 70 100 283 
			 New Hall — — — — — — — — 6 
			 Northallerton — — — — — — — — 10 
			 Parkhurst — — — — — — — 12 12 
			 Pentonville — — 38 — — — — — 38 
			 Rochester — — — — — — — — 9 
			 Send — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Spring Hill — — — — — — — — 4 
			 Stoke Heath — — — — — — — — 58 
			 Swaleside — — — — — — — — 114 
			 Swansea — — — — — — — — 20 
			 The Verne — 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Wellingborough 36 30 — — — — — — 98 
			 Wetherby 12 — — — — — — 15 59 
			 Whaton — — — — — — — — 20 
			 Whatton — — — — — — — — 25 
			 Whitemoor — — — — — — — — 10 
			 Winchester — 11 — — — — — — 11 
			 Total 154 50 75 36 63 219 215 350 1,828

Prison Service: Convictions

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees of HM Prison Service have criminal convictions.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not hold a central record of employees of HM Prison Service that have received criminal convictions.
	If serving members of staff receive a criminal conviction, they will be subject to potential disciplinary action. Depending on the nature of the conviction, this could lead to dismissal, including summary dismissal. This would be in addition to any criminal sanctions imposed by the courts.
	Prior to beginning employment with NOMS, applicants must declare criminal convictions and consent to additional background checks where appropriate. Previous criminal convictions are not an automatic disbar to employment with NOMS. Each case is considered on its merits.

Prison Service: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people the Prison Service employed in Wales in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people expected to be employed by the Prison Service in Wales in each of the next five years.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the full-time equivalent number of staff employed within Welsh Prison Service establishments and the National Offender Management Service Headquarters (NOMS HQ) based in Wales between 2007 and 2011 is contained in the following table. The figures include staff employed by the contractor that manages HMP Parc.
	
		
			 HM Prison Service and NOMS HQ staff in Wales—31 March 2007 to 2011 
			 As at 31 March each year Full - time equivalent staff in post 
			 2007 1,779 
			 2008 2,024 
			 2009 2,198 
			 2010 2,150 
			 2011 1,621 
			 Note: In June 2010 approximately 640 staff at the NOMS National Shared Service Centre transferred to the central Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	Detailed plans of staffing within Wales over the next five years are not available. The three public sector prisons in Wales have submitted staffing plans that indicate a reduction in funded posts compared to April 2011 of 19 by April 2012, 30 by April 2013 and 29 by April 2014. These plans are subject to adjustment in line with budgetary constraints. Information on the projected fall in staff within NOMS HQ in Wales is not available but will contribute to the need to reduce costs across NOMS HQ. No staffing projections have been provided by the contractor for HMP Parc.

Prisoners: Compensation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much compensation was paid to prisoners in each of the last five years in each claim category; and to how many cases such claims related in each such year.

Crispin Blunt: Prisoners may seek compensation through internal complaints procedures, correspondence, civil litigation and through the parliamentary and prison and probation ombudsman. To provide the information requested would require a trawl through thousands of individual complaint/letters received at each prison site and in MOJ headquarters. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Employment

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners at HM Prison (a) Preston and (b) Kirkham were receiving paid employment of more than (i) £10, (ii) £25 and (iii) £50 per week in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: As of 28 November 2011, 158 prisoners at Preston were earning £10 or more per week. No prisoners at Preston were earning more than £25 per week. 527 prisoners at Kirkham were earning £10 or more but less than £25, 64 were earning £25 or more but less than £50, and 39 were earning £50 or more. All of those prisoners earning over £25 per week are either employed in private industry within the prison or in full-time employment in the community.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to Prison Service Instruction 48/2011, 
	(1)  how much revenue has been raised in respect of the levy charges on prisoner earnings under remittance notices labelled Transfer of Prisoner Earnings Receipts to Victims and Witnesses Unit—Business Entity Code RB311; and how many prisoners are subject to the levy;
	(2)  how many employers have made payments into the GBS Re NOMS Agency account; which prisons such payments relate to; and how much was raised.

Crispin Blunt: These figures are due to be published for the first time in April 2012. They are currently in preparation and have not yet been through the relevant production and quality assurance processes required prior to public release. I will write to my hon. Friend with the figures when they are published.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what renovation, refurbishment and redecoration works in prisons have been cancelled or postponed since July 2011; and what the reason was in each case.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central record of all renovation, refurbishment and redecoration works undertaken across the prison estate. There may be a wide range of projects which are dealt with at a local level and the information requested can be collected only at a disproportionate cost.

Probation Service: Wales

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people the probation service employed in Wales in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people expected to be employed by the probation service in Wales in each of the next five years.

Crispin Blunt: A snapshot of permanent probation service staff employed in Wales on 31 December in each of the last five years (2006-10) is provided in the following table. The latest published figures for 2011 have also been provided.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent 
			 2006 1,350.97 
			 2007 1,318.60 
			 2008 1,332.67 
			 2009 1,201.87 
			 2010 1,095.43 
			 2011 (at 30 September) 1,042.72 
		
	
	It is not possible to forecast staffing levels over the next five years, as the responsibility for resourcing levels lies with the individual probation trust. It is for them to take the necessary action at a local level to ensure they can deliver the required service within available resources.

Smoking: Motor Vehicles

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions for smoking in vehicles used for work have resulted in a conviction in each year since 2007.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice court proceedings database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify from offences under the Health Act 2006, “smoking in a smoke-free place”, those instances where the offence was committed in a vehicle used for work.

Trials: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions defendants have been found not guilty by a jury due to mental impairment attributable to post-traumatic stress disorder in the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the circumstances of each case. It is therefore not possible to identify from these centrally held data whether the defendant has been found not guilty by a jury due to mental impairment attributable to post traumatic stress disorder.
	The law provides for persons who are not responsible for their acts due to a ‘disease of the mind' to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
	The number of defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity at the crown Court in England and Wales, from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity at the  c rown Court, England and Wales, 2006-10 (1,2) 
			  Not guilty by reason of insanity 
			 2006 16 
			 2007 10 
			 2008 22 
			 2009 22 
			 2010 14 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Witnesses: Intimidation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of cases where a witness has been intimidated by prisoners on remand in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: This information is not collected centrally but it is clear that where intimidation occurs the impact can be serious. For that reason arrangements were put in place in September which enable the police, CPS, courts and prisons to work together to protect victims and witnesses from unwelcome contact where such a risk is identified.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 35W, on biofuels, whether his definition of stemwood corresponds to that used by the European Commission.

Gregory Barker: We are not aware of any officially-recognised definition of stemwood. For the purpose of my answer of 21 November, stemwood is considered as referring to the wood from the main stem of a tree; so excludes branches, leaves, stump and root but includes residues such as sawdust and offcuts from sawmill processing of stemwood.

Boilers: Government Assistance

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in St Helens South and Whiston constituency have replaced a boiler under the boiler scrappage scheme.

Gregory Barker: The boiler scrappage scheme's evaluation data were broken down into nine major demographical regions, not local constituencies. For the North West region 17,897 vouchers were issued, the second largest total for any region. This is 15.2% of the total number of installations, which was 118,108.

Boilers: Government Assistance

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had any recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the boiler scrappage scheme.

Gregory Barker: DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in HM Treasury and other Departments to discuss a range of issues. As has been the case with successive administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Carbon Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the revenue that will be generated from the first sale of emission allowances to Carbon Reduction Commitment participants in spring 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Government’s decision to remove revenue recycling from the CRC Energy Efficiency scheme was taken in order to clarify the price signal to participants and to support the public finances. The spending review 2010 policy costings document sets out the impact of the CRC Scheme on Government expenditure, which can be viewed at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spend_sr2010_policycostings.htm
	The allowance price has been set at £12/tCO2 for the first year, and future years’ prices will be published as part of the Budget process.
	
		
			 Annually managed expenditure (AME) 
			  £ million 
			 2011-12 +716 
			 2012-13 +731 
			 2013-14 +995 
			 2014-15 +1,020 
		
	
	The Department has not revised this estimate.

Civil Nuclear Constabulary: Arrests

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many arrests the Civil Nuclear Constabulary has made since May 2010; and how many of those arrests resulted in prosecutions.

Charles Hendry: The Civil Nuclear Constabulary has made 16 arrests since May 2010. All arrests were handed over to the relevant Home Office or Scottish police force for investigation and potential prosecution. After initial arrest, CNC involvement was limited to providing witness statements and the CNC does not keep records of the number of cases proceeding to prosecution.

Climate Change: Developing Countries

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the long-term finance from the Government's International Climate Fund for developing countries is projected to be delivered through (a) his Department, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) multilateral agencies.

Gregory Barker: £1 billion of the £2.9 billion International Climate Fund will come from the Department of Energy and Climate Change's budget. This funding will be delivered through others.
	The International Climate Fund started in April 2011. Given we are only eight months through a four-year fund, we are still deciding on potential delivery partners. The choice of delivery partner will be based on maximising impact and ensuring value for money.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: As at 1 December 2011, DECC had 20 professional communicators, working across a range of disciplines.
	As of the same date, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority had 17 professional communicators; the Civil Nuclear Police Authority had two part-time professional communicators; the Coal Authority had one professional communicator; and the Committee on Climate Change had two professional communicators.
	The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group and the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board did not have any professional communicators.
	DECC has no executive agencies.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Gregory Barker: The Department’s policy is that staff salaries are paid into their bank accounts.
	An investigation as to whether each bank account relates to an individual or limited company would be at disproportionate cost. Without such an in depth investigation there is no evidence that any senior civil servants in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and its non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Gregory Barker: During the period 1 June 2011 to 30 November 2011 the Department received 227 named day questions. Of these 192 (83%) were answered on the day; the remaining 37 questions were all answered within five working days.

Dounreay

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total capital cost was of the three reactors built at Dounreay; what the total output of electricity was over their lifespan; and what the average cost was per MWh.

Charles Hendry: The total capital cost of the three reactors at Dounreay, including ancillary plant, was in excess of £55 million; based on figures published in the 1960s. One of the reactors was a materials test reactor and generated no power during its operating life. The remaining two reactors generated a total of 9,835 GWh of electricity. The average cost per MWh could be calculated only at a disproportionate cost.

Electricity Generation

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of reverting to a pool system of electricity supply.

Charles Hendry: The UK operated under a pool system prior to privatisation, thereafter we moved to a system of bilateral contracting (NETA), in common with most other European counties. A reversion to a pool system would be costly, disruptive and would take years to implement. As an illustration, estimated costs of the transition from the pool to NETA are in the region of £700 million.

Electricity: Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average costs were per MWh of electricity generated from (a) coal, (b) gas and (c) nuclear in (i) 1981, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2010 at current prices.

Gregory Barker: In recent years DECC has carried out analysis on generation costs to inform policy decisions. The following table shows estimates of the levelised cost of electricity generation from coal, gas and nuclear that have been published by HMG since 2006. These have been converted into 2011 prices using HMT deflators.
	
		
			 Table 1: Levelised costs of electricity generations, £/MWh, 2011 prices 
			 £/MWh 
			 Source Gas plant—CCGT Coal plant—ASC with FGD Nuclear—PWR 
			 Energy Review (2006)(1) 40 32 43 
			 Mott MacDonald (2010)(2) 84 108 103 
			 PB (2011)(3) 79 98 76 
			 (1) Energy Review (2006): http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file32014.pdf (2) Based on projects starting in 2009. Report available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/statistics/projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf (3) Based on projects starting in 2009. Report available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/publications/basket.aspx?filetype=4&filepath=11%2fabout-us%2feconomics-social-research%2f2127-electricity-generation-cost-model-2011.pdf&minwidth=true#basket 
		
	
	Please note that these costs from different sources are not directly comparable as assumptions behind the reference plant and operating environment have changed over time. For example the base case estimate in the 2006 Energy Review shown here does not include a carbon price, while the cost of carbon is included in more recent estimates by Mott MacDonald (2010) and PB (2011).
	While DECC does not have generation cost estimates for UK plant prior to 2006 and we are unaware of any running series of UK levelised costs data, there are other sources of data. For example, the IEA/OECD produced levelised cost estimates for coal and nuclear plants commissioning in 1995. These are shown in the following table (converted in 2011 prices). Please note that these estimates are not directly comparable to the DECC published estimates in Table 1 as they are based on different reference technologies.
	
		
			 Table 2: IEA/OECD levelised costs of electricity generation commissioning in 1995, £/MWh, 2011 prices 
			 £/MWh 
			  Coal Nuclear 
			 UK 84 71 
			 Source: ‘Projected Costs of Generating Electricity: From Power Stations for Commissioning in the Period 1995-2000' (OECD).

Energy Performance Certificates

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of properties that (a) meet the grade C energy performance certificate standard and (b) will meet the grade C energy performance certificate standard in each year from 2012 to 2015.

Gregory Barker: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) estimates, based on a sample survey of 16,150 dwellings, indicate that 3,095,000 dwellings have an EPC rating of C or above(1).
	Our analysis suggests that the uptake of Green Deal plans could lead to an average of 60,000 dwellings in bands D-G being brought up to an EPC rating of C or above each year between 2013 and 2022.
	(1) Source:
	English Housing Survey 2009.

Energy Supply

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made a recent assessment of the energy security and national resilience implications of the current level of diversity of ownership within the UK's (a) nuclear power and (b) renewable energy industries; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: Our energy policy is to ensure diverse and competitive electricity and gas markets. In July, we published the White Paper on electricity market reform which will deliver secure, affordable electricity from a diverse mix of sources, including renewables, new nuclear, and fossil fuels—including carbon capture and storage.
	The current nuclear fleet is owned by EDF Nuclear Generation (formerly British Energy) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Our policy to facilitate investment in new nuclear has led to three consortia (EDF, Horizon and Nugen) to come forward with plans to build new nuclear power in the UK to date. Renewables assets to generate electricity and heat can come forward at a variety of scales from the household level upwards and are owned by a wide variety of individuals and companies.
	This level of different ownership adds to security of supply and national resilience, and Government welcome further investment from these and other players to meet the needs of a secure and affordable low carbon economy.

Energy: Conservation

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will issue guidance to town and parish councils on how they may assist in delivering (a) measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, (b) greater energy efficiency and (c) local green energy projects.

Gregory Barker: I have asked the Committee on Climate Change to provide a report by the end of April 2012, to include a menu of options from which all local authorities can consider the actions they may take to reduce carbon emissions in their areas.
	Government will complement this, working with local authorities to develop ‘how to’ guidance, bringing together knowledge, experience, and advice aimed at supporting all local authorities to achieve the objectives for cutting carbon emissions.

Energy: Conservation

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans his Department has to work with all those organisations that did not take early action under the Carbon Reduction Commitment to ensure that they adopt energy efficiency measures in future years of the scheme.

Gregory Barker: The Department welcomes the fact that so many companies and public sector organisations have taken clear action on energy management prior to the start of the CRC which was shown in the recently published performance league table.
	The CRC combines financial, behavioural and reputational elements which will drive organisations to adopt energy efficiency measures in future years of the scheme. In addition, my Department is supporting the uptake of energy efficiency and low carbon measures through programmes such as the Renewable Heat Incentive and will provide further financial support through the Green Deal.

Energy: Meters

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure small and medium-sized business can participate in delivering the smart metering roll-out programme.

Charles Hendry: The smart metering roll-out is expected to generate new business and employment opportunities both throughout the supply chain for the manufacture of the meters and for their installation and maintenance. There will be further potential generated by the provision of the communications technology which will underpin the operation of the meters.

Energy: Taxation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of the likelihood of his Department meeting its timetable for implementation of new energy company obligations in October 2012.

Gregory Barker: We remain on track for the legal framework and supporting guidance for the new energy company obligation to be in place by October 2012.

Fuel Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households that have been lifted out of fuel poverty as a direct result of the (a) Community Energy Savings Programme, (b) Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and (c) Warm Front scheme.

Gregory Barker: Estimates of the number of households removed from fuel poverty as a result of the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), CERT extension and Warm Front scheme were published in the following relevant impact assessments and reports:
	CESP:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/consultations/cesp/1_20090710121840_e_@@_cespia.pdf
	Warm Front:
	http://www.ialibrary.bis.gov.uk/uploaded/1442-ia-warm-front-eligibility100311.pdf
	CERT:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/about-us/Science/3149-estimating-effect-cert.pdf
	CERT Extension:
	http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/doc/uk_-_energy_efficiency_action_plan.pdf
	CESP was estimated to remove around 20,000 households from fuel poverty by the end of the programme and beyond; Warm Front was estimated to remove around 50,000 households from fuel poverty from April 2011 to March 2013 and beyond; CERT was estimated to sustainably remove around 163,000 households from fuel poverty from 2008 to 2011; and under the CERT extension to the end of 2012 around 185,000 households were estimated to receive measures to provide a long-term solution to fuel poverty.

Fuel Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households that will be lifted out of fuel poverty as a direct result of the Green Deal by 1 January 2016; and whether he has set a target in respect of the effects on fuel poverty of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The consultation stage impact assessment for the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation contains an estimate and discussion of the policy's fuel poverty impacts, which can be viewed at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/green-deal/3603-green-deal-eco-ia.pdf
	It is estimated that, by the end of 2022, 350,000 to 550,000 households will have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the whole Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation package, compared to how many could have been in fuel poverty in the absence of the policy. No separate estimate has been made for the proportion attributable only to the Green Deal finance mechanism.

Fuel Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households that will be lifted out of fuel poverty as a direct result of the affordable warmth element of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) by 1 January 2016; and whether he has set a target in respect of the effects on fuel poverty of the ECO.

Gregory Barker: The consultation stage impact assessment for the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation contains an estimate and discussion of the policy's fuel poverty impacts, which can be viewed at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/green-deal/3603-green-deal-eco-ia.pdf
	It is estimated that, by the end of 2022, 350,000 to 550,000 households will have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the whole Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation package, compared to how many could have been in fuel poverty in the absence of the policy. No separate estimate has been made for the Affordable Warmth component of the package.

Fuel Poverty: North-east England

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people in fuel poverty in (a) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency, (b) Middlesbrough borough, (c) Redcar and Cleveland borough, (d) Teesside and (e) the north-east in the last year for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at a household level. The most recent sub-regional data available are for 2009. The number of fuel poor households in each region in 2009 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			 (a) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency 9,000 
			 (b) Middlesbrough local authority 14,200 
			 (c) Redcar and Cleveland local authority 14,800 
			 (e) The north-east 272,000 
		
	
	There is no published level of fuel poverty for Teesside. However, the combined number of fuel poor households in the local authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton on Tees (which approximately equate to the Teesside area) in 2009 was around 45,400.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: International Co-operation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether, in the absence of a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the Government are prepared to agree new emissions reductions targets that come into force before 2020.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to pushing for the EU to adopt a 30% emissions reduction target by 2020 on 1990 levels. Ongoing discussions in Durban on the Kyoto Protocol will not change this commitment.
	Nationally, the Climate Change Act 2008 introduced a system of carbon budgets which provide legally binding limits on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that may be produced over successive five year carbon budget, periods. The first three carbon budgets for 2008-12, 2013-17 and 2018-22 require emissions to be reduced by 23%, 29% and 35% respectively against 1990 levels. Should the EU adopt a 30% reduction target, we will tighten our legislated carbon budgets accordingly.

Heating Oil

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to encourage households that use heating oil to switch to less carbon intensive fuels.

Charles Hendry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Meg Munn) on 28 November 2011, Official Report, column 659-60W.

Oil and Gas: Prices

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department used for the price of (a) oil and (b) gas in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2030 to establish the baseline scenario in the electricity market reform White Paper.

Charles Hendry: The impact assessment (IA) accompanying the electricity market reform (EMR) White Paper provides details on the fossil fuel price assumptions used in establishing the EMR baseline. These assumptions are based on DECC's 2010 updated energy projections. In the central case, for years 2020 and 2030, the estimates are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2020 2030 
			 Oil ($/bbl) 81.8 92 
			 Gas (p/therm) 68.5 76.1 
		
	
	The EMR White Paper IA can be found at the following web link:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2180-emr-impact-assessment.pdf
	In addition, on 23 November 2011, DECC published its updated assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills. Further information can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/about-us/economics-social-research/3593-estimated-impacts-of-our-policies-on-energy-prices.pdf

Oil: Carbon Emissions

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions arising from the extraction and combustion of a barrel of (a) Angolan crude oil, (b) Nigerian crude oil, (c) Venezuelan crude oil and (d) oil from Canadian tar sands.

Charles Hendry: While the Department does not hold such information, the European Commission has commissioned various studies which estimate values associated with particular grades of crude oil so as to inform the implementation of the fuel quality directive.
	Emissions can vary according to a range of factors, including the relative ‘heaviness’ of crude oil sources (countries often produce more than one grade of crude), the technology employed in processing and refining the crude and the amount of associated gas flaring.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have feed-in tariff installations in the UK;
	(2)  how many Housing Revenue Account tenanted properties have feed-in tariff solar photovoltaic installations in the UK.

Gregory Barker: Most feed-in tariffs (FITs) installations on housing revenue account tenanted properties are solar photovoltaic (PV), so the same answer applies to both questions asked.
	This information is not available in the form requested.
	However, latest available Ofgem data show that 19.6% of all solar PV FITs payments are made to a generator or a nominated recipient for more than one PV installation, i.e. the single entity is in receipt of payment for more than one FIT installation. This “multi-installation” category includes social housing projects and other offers (such as commercial rent-a-roof schemes) where the occupant benefits from the electricity produced but is not in receipt of the FITs payment.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the timetable set by his Department for implementation of the recently announced changes to feed-in tariffs conform with Cabinet Office best practice guidelines on the timetables for the introduction, removal and amendment of regulations.

Gregory Barker: This consultation period is shorter than that recommended in the code of practice on consultation for most standard consultations, but does conform with the provisions made in the code of practice for certain consultations to be held over shorter periods. The Government consider that a shorter period (eight weeks) for the consultation on solar photovoltaic tariffs is justified given the small number of issues covered by the consultation and the urgency of the budgetary risk it is focused on addressing; and that the eight-week period is consistent with the code of practice on consultation.
	Following the close of the consultation on 23 December 2011, and subject to the representations received and due parliamentary process, changes will be implemented on 1 April 2012.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with representatives of the Oil Firing Technical Association on the inclusion of bioliquids in the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Charles Hendry: Representatives of the Oil Firing Technical Association have been talking regularly to my officials. They have provided useful evidence on the costs, deployability and sustainability of the renewable heating oil blend which we are considering as part of developing the second phase of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Scottish Government

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when officials of his Department last met officials of the Scottish Government to discuss fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: My officials work closely with their colleagues in the Scottish Government on this important issue. Their most recent policy meeting was on 3 October to discuss the Green Deal, the Energy Company Obligation and Fuel Poverty. Officials have also met at a number of recent Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation consultation events.

Solar Power

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what talks his Department has had with banks regarding loans held by companies engaged in solar panel installation.

Gregory Barker: DECC engages regularly with the finance community, including banks, and the feed-in tariff team have met with a very broad range of banks from UK high street to large international banks while developing the comprehensive review of the feed-in tariffs scheme.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what methodology he used to determine the figures for a return on investment for solar photovoltaic tariffs set at the proposed rate.

Gregory Barker: The DECC FITs model calculates the generation tariff necessary to deliver an intended return on capital for a well-sited solar photovoltaic (PV) installation in any given tariff band. The tariff calculations are based on a reference installation in each tariff band with a defined set of characteristics. The tariff is set at a level that equalises all costs and revenues of solar photovoltaic systems over its lifetime, after applying a 4.5% to 5% return on upfront capital. A note setting out the methodology in more detail will be placed in the Library of the House.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) his Department or (b) Ofgem collect information on the number of solar photovoltaic panels installed under the feed-in tariff by (i) British Gas, (ii) EDF Energy, (iii) E.on, (iv) NPower, (v) Scottish Power and (vi) Scottish and Southern Energy; and if he will place a copy of any such information in the Library.

Gregory Barker: This information is not collected by the Department nor by Ofgem.

Water: Meters

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consideration he has given to ensuring flexibility in his planned smart meter procurement to allow the later addition of smart water metering.

Gregory Barker: Our recent consultation document(1) on the Data and Communications Company (DCC) set out proposals for the provision of value-added services in future, which could include water metering. We are currently analysing responses to this consultation and are conducting procurements for the provision of data and communications services, which will enable us to explore the cost of different levels of functionality and capacity, for smart energy metering and other purposes.
	We have also made clear our intention that the enduring technical solution will employ open standards and protocols allowing the integration of other equipment, potentially including smart water meters.
	(1 )Smart Metering Implementation Programme: A consultation on the detailed policy design of the regulatory and commercial framework for DCC:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/smart-metering-imp-prog/2883-cons-detailed-policy-design-of-dcc.pdf

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Females

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Afghanistan on the number of Afghan women attending the Bonn conference; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) on 28 November 2011, Official Report, column 675W.

Afghanistan: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will include a section on developments in gender equality and the involvement of women in his monthly reports to Parliament on Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: The Afghanistan Monthly Report to Parliament covers progress across all relevant areas each month. We include updates on gender equality and the involvement of women when appropriate.

Afghanistan: Females

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure there is adequate discussion on women's rights in Afghanistan at the Bonn Conference.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 November 2011, Official Report, columns 674-675W.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the decision to withdraw the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team from Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: The Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) remains focused on strengthening Helmand's governance and development, working closely with ISAF to support Afghan provincial and district authorities. We will reduce staff numbers gradually leading up to the end of 2014 and this will be done in a responsible fashion. This is appropriate as the role of the PRT continues to evolve away from direct delivery of services to increased support to the local Afghan Government, as the latter's capacity for independent delivery continues.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the decision was taken to withdraw the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team from Afghanistan in line with the timetable set out for the withdrawal of combat troops; and which (a) Ministers and (b) officials were involved.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), agreed in June, after consultation with cross-Whitehall officials, that the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team should close by the end of 2014, the same point by which the Prime Minister has made clear that UK troops will no longer be serving in a combat role, or in significant numbers, in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there will be any conditions attached to the withdrawal of the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team from Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: We are confident that the end of 2014 represents a realistic and achievable drawdown date for the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team, as the capacity of the Afghan Government for direct delivery of services and maintaining security increases. It is in line with the timescale agreed between ISAF and the Afghan Government for drawdown of all Provincial Reconstruction Teams across Afghanistan. Progress will be subject to regular review of conditions on the ground.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the decision to withdraw the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team from Afghanistan in line with the timetable set out for the withdrawal of combat troops was discussed within the National Security Council; and on what dates these discussions took place.

Alistair Burt: The decision to drawdown the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team was not discussed within the National Security Council.

Afghanistan: USA

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Afghanistan on the decision of the Loya Jirga on the Strategic Partnership Agreement with America; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our ambassador in Kabul discussed the outcomes of the Traditional Loya Jirga with Afghan National Security Advisor Spanta and Defence Minister Wardak on 22 November 2011. I expect to discuss this further with Afghan Foreign Minister Rassoul at the Bonn conference on 5 December 2011.

Armed Forces: Children

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to assist child soldiers who have been released from service.

Henry Bellingham: Britain is helping to assist the rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers. We do this indirectly, by funding organisations with the necessary expertise to provide children with the specialist care and approaches that they need to reintegrate into society.
	For example, in 2010, the Department for International Development (DFID) funded a £2 million UNICEF project to help discharge and rehabilitate members of the Maoist Army in Nepal, approximately 3,000 of whom had been recruited as children. In the aftermath of the 2008-09 conflict in Gaza, DFID funded projects in 2009-10 which provided psychosocial support to almost 10,000 children and care-givers, and cleared unexploded ordnance at 20 schools, allowing 220,000 children to return to school.

Armed Forces: Children

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Ugandan Government on the use of child soldiers by the National Liberation Army.

Henry Bellingham: The British high commission in Kampala is in close and regular contact with the Ugandan Government concerning the full range of conflict issues affecting that country. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in particular poses the greatest threat to children in the region, and is responsible for numerous offences against children, including forced recruitment and acts of sexual violence.
	The British Government remain committed to helping the victims of the LRA and to tackling the root causes of the conflict. This includes allocating £16 million of funding to help young and vulnerable individuals as part of a wider programme in Northern Uganda, and a contribution of US$35 million towards a World Bank led effort to support the demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants in the greater Great Lakes region of Central Africa.
	The Allied Democratic Force/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU), which operates largely in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is also known to commit sporadic offences against children. Jamil Mukulu, the head of the ADF/NALU, is subject to sanctions under the United Nations regime applied to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Armed Forces: Children

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government have any diplomatic relations with countries in which child soldiers operate.

Henry Bellingham: Britain maintains diplomatic relations with the vast majority of countries worldwide. Child soldiers are present in several of those countries. We believe that maintaining diplomatic relations allows us to engage more effectively on the issue of child soldiers.
	The UN, which helps to lead the international response to the issue of child soldiers, does not implicate countries as violators of children's rights. Rather it identifies and lists specific parties to a conflict which are responsible for grave violations against children.

Armed Forces: Children

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the number of child soldiers deployed around the world.

Henry Bellingham: It is not possible to give a reliable estimate of the number of child soldiers. There are several estimates in use, ranging from 150,000 to 300,000. The reasons for this wide estimate include foremost the lack of easy access to armed groups, which prevents reliable reporting. Also, the nature of child recruitment is frequently informal, and loose associations with armed groups, such as children being used for intelligence gathering roles, are particularly difficult to document.

Armed Forces: Children

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to end the practice of using child soldiers.

Henry Bellingham: Britain is committed to ending the recruitment and deployment of child soldiers. We apply diplomatic pressure to offending governments and armed groups, as well as funding projects to help protect and rehabilitate vulnerable children. Britain is also a member of the UN Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, which helps to lead the international response to the issue of child soldiers. This includes pressing offenders to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with them.

British Overseas Territories: Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on including in the Overseas Territories White Paper a target to halt overall loss of biodiversity by 2020 in all British overseas territories.

Henry Bellingham: The White Paper on the Overseas Territories will be published in 2012. There is currently a public consultation under way, including through a web-based platform to gather views on the Government’s strategy towards the Overseas Territories, as announced by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 14 September. Work is also under way across Whitehall to consider how each Government Department can contribute to delivery of the strategy. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is engaged in this process, but no specific decisions have yet been taken on the structure or content of the White Paper.

British Virgin Islands: Elections

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the Governor of the British Virgin Islands discussed his invitation of election observers to observe elections in the territory with (a) the Cabinet and (b) the Leader of the Opposition of the British Virgin Islands; and on what date the Governor arranged for invitations for observers to be extended.

Henry Bellingham: The Governor discussed the proposal to invite election observers during Cabinet meetings on 19 and 26 October. Letters of invitation were sent to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and to the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on 27 October. The Governor discussed the initiative with the Leader of the Opposition on 31 October, in advance of the issue of a press release.

British Virgin Islands: Elections

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the invitation to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to observe elections in the British Virgin Islands in 1995 was at the initiative of the (a) government and (b) Governor of the territory; and who extended the invitation.

Henry Bellingham: The information requested is not readily available to either the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Governor's Office in Tortola.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Lidington: As of October 2011, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's communications directorate had 93 members of staff. A headcount is set out as follows. Headcount has reduced from 116 reported for 2009-10. There are also embedded communications staff within directorates and staff overseas with a communications remit, but details of these are not available except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Discipline Total 
			 Internal communications 5 
			 Digital/social media 17 
			 Strategic communications 26 
			 Corporate communications 14 
			 Marketing 0 
			 Media/press 28 
			 Senior management 1 
			 Support staff 2 
		
	
	A review of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's communications directorate has now been completed. Strategic communications responsibilities will fall to relevant policy directorates within the Department. Alongside other changes, it is planned to reduce communications directorate staffing to a maximum of 69 by April 2012.
	The British Council's centralised communications function was staffed as follows in November 2011. There are also staff overseas with a communications remit, but details of these are not available except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Discipline Total 
			 Internal communications 4 
			 Digital/social media 3 
			 Strategic communications 0 
			 Corporate communications 2 
			 Marketing 0 
			 Media/press 5 
			 Senior management 1 
			 Support staff 0

Departmental Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

David Lidington: It is our policy to seek an order for the recovery of costs against applicants for judicial review whose applications fail. However under the Civil Procedure Rules the court has a discretion as to whether costs will be awarded against an unsuccessful party. In principle we will seek to enforce an order for costs against an unsuccessful applicant. However there may be legal constraints against recovery from the Legal Services Commission against an applicant who is in receipt of Legal Aid. In addition, in privately funded cases there may be practical constraints, for example where the costs to be recovered are minimal and the costs of enforcement are disproportionate.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party.

Henry Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not maintain a central record of all events and receptions hosted by the Department and so the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not outsourced any new services centrally in the last five years, although it continues to manage those contracts where services have been outsourced outside of the time frame of this question.
	Procurement responsibilities are devolved to directorates in the UK and our network of posts. Information on all outsourcing activities is not held centrally in the UK and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

David Lidington: The percentage of questions answered within five sitting days was as follows:
	
		
			 2011 Percentage of questions answered 
			 May 89 
			 June 100 
			 July 100 
			 August 100 
			 September 100 
			 October 98

Foreign Relations: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has any programme in place to educate children on the UK's foreign relations.

David Lidington: While staff are free to make individual arrangements to speak to schools and children's groups, no central programme exists.

Iraq: Human Trafficking

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iraq on (a) tackling trafficking for sexual exploitation and (b) providing support to victims of human trafficking.

Alistair Burt: We have not made specific representations to the Government of Iraq on human trafficking, however, the UK continues to co-ordinate closely with the international community in Iraq on this issue. UK officials regularly attend a ‘Trafficking in Persons’ working group in Baghdad along with officials from the Government of Iraq and international partners. The group has been looking at a draft Iraqi law on Trafficking in Persons, which is expected to be passed in the near future.
	More generally, we continue to monitor closely the situation facing women in Iraq. Some of the most vulnerable are those who have been victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding a project providing training for staff working in four shelters which provide protection to vulnerable women, including those who are victims of trafficking.

Israel: OECD

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 1 December 2010, Official Report, column 830W and 16 June 2011, Official Report, column 906W, on Israel: OECD, on which date the OECD study team was (a) presented to and (b) debated by the Committee on Statistics.

Alistair Burt: The report of the OECD study team was presented to and discussed by the Committee on Statistics on 17 June 2011 and the recommendations were adopted.

Israel: OECD

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 1 December 2010, Official Report, column 830W and 16 June 2011, Official Report, column 906W, on Israel: OECD, what subsequent steps have been taken to ensure Israeli macroeconomic data no longer include data relating to the Golan, East Jerusalem or the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) confirmed, following the visit to Israel by members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Statistics Committee in summer 2011, that it will provide statistics that distinguish pre-1967 Israel and the post-1967 areas when required to do so. This confirmed a commitment made by the CBS at the time of the OECD accession review.
	The impact on Israel's macroeconomic statistics of disaggregated data was assessed to be very small—less than 4% of GDP—and it was agreed that Israel would not need to provide disaggregated statistics for this. The impact was sufficiently larger for social issues, migration and employment, and it was agreed that in these areas, Israel should be asked to continue providing disaggregated statistics for any study carried out in these areas. Israeli statistics were assessed to have been of good quality and in line with international standards.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-12

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have made of the potential effect of the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill on the UK's adherence to the Ruggie principles on business and human rights.

Jeremy Browne: Following the UN Human Rights Council's June 2011 endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in which the UK played an important role, the Government are fully committed to implementing those principles as part of a wider strategy on business and human rights. We do not believe that the reforms of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill are incompatible with this commitment. We believe that it will still be possible to bring claims against multinational companies once these reforms are implemented, but that meritorious claims will be resolved at a more proportional cost, while unnecessary and avoidable claims will be deterred from progressing to court.

Lord Ahmed

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the decision by the Pakistani authorities to declare Lord Ahmed of Rotherham persona non grata; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We have not been contacted by the Pakistani authorities on this matter. Such a decision would be a matter for the Pakistani authorities.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Jeremy Browne: No.

Turks and Caicos Islands: Elections

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date he expects elections to take place in the Turks and Caicos Islands; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: I want to see a return to democratic government in the Turks and Caicos Islands as soon as the necessary reforms have been put in place. It remains my intention that the milestones set out in the written ministerial statement of 9 December 2010, Official Report, columns 40-41WS, should be met and elections held in 2012. I will keep the House informed of progress.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many section 4 payment cards are being used by people residing in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Damian Green: The latest breakdown by country is:
	(a) 194 in Scotland;
	(b) 2,014 in England;
	(c) 110 in Wales; and
	(d) 26 in Northern Ireland.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which retailers participate in the section 4 payment card scheme; and what plans the UK Border Agency has to extend the (a) number and (b) range of participating retailers.

Damian Green: The main retailers participating in the payment card scheme are:
	Asda;
	Tesco;
	Sainsbury’s;
	Morrisons;
	The Co-Operative;
	Boots; and
	Peacocks.
	Additionally, a small number of independent outlets also participate in the scheme. Approximately 8,800 retail outlets across the UK accept the payment card.
	Negotiations are currently under way to add the British Red Cross and the Salvation Army to the scheme. There are currently no other plans to extend the number of participating outlets.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much in unspent credit has been recovered from section 4 payment cards in each month since the scheme was introduced.

Damian Green: The figures for each month since June 2010 (when the data began to be collected) are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010  
			 June 29,540 
			 July 32,527 
			 August 22,792 
			 September 20,157 
			 October 21,801 
		
	
	
		
			 November 21,142 
			 December 19,772 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 13,012 
			 February 11,212 
			 March 12,550 
			 April 10,014 
			 May 9,442 
			 June 8,784 
			 July 7,155 
			 August 6,672 
			 September 6,248 
			 October 6,520

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider the merits of increasing the weekly carry-over limit for the section 4 payment card.

Damian Green: There are currently no plans to increase the weekly carry-over limit of £5 per person, per week for single supported persons. Supported persons who have children can carry over an unlimited amount.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the merits of extending the section 4 payment card scheme to include charity shops.

Damian Green: Talks are taking place with a view to adding the British Red Cross and the Salvation Army to the list of retail outlets where the card is accepted. We will consider adding other charity shops to the scheme on a case by case basis.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the UK Border Agency will bring forward proposals to allow users of the section 4 payment card to check card balances (a) online and (b) in-store at participating retailers.

Damian Green: There is already an automated 24-hour telephone service that enables payment card users to check their balance. There are no plans to extend this service.

Asylum: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much credit is allocated to section 4 payment cards for an individual with children.

Damian Green: £35.39 per week is allocated to all supported persons, including children. Additional credits can be added to the Azure card to supported persons with children. These include a £5 per week clothing allowance, a £5 per week allowance for children under one year of age and a £3 per week allowance for children between one and three years of age.

Civil Disorder

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on reimbursement of costs to police authorities affected by the August 2011 public disorder.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 9 September 2011
	There is an established system of special grants in place to support forces where they face unexpected or exceptional costs.

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many internal audits have taken place (a) in her Department and (b) in the non-departmental bodies for which her Department is responsible in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Between 1 October 2010 and 22 November 2011 the following audits have been delivered.
	
		
			 Area Final report issued 
			 Home Office core  
			 Crime and Policing Group 8 
			 Cross Cutting 2 
			 Financial and Commercial Group 20 
			 Human Resources 6 
			 Strategy and Reform 1 
			   
			 NDPBs  
			 Identity and Passport Service 7 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission 1 
			 Independent Safeguarding Authority 7 
			 National Policing Improvement Agency 11 
			 Office for Security and Counter Terrorism 5 
			 Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner 4 
			 UK Border Agency 20 
			 CRB 9 
			 SOCA 13 
			 Total 114 
		
	
	We are able to include non-departmental public body (NDPB) data due to the fact that we provide audit services over a majority of the NDPBs. This would not be possible in other Departments where there are significant numbers of external bodies and/or internal audit services are outsourced. Specifically, as the internal audit services report to the agency/NDPB accounting officer, the Department internal audit services are not directly privy to them.
	The data were extracted from our internal audit management information system which is used to track the progress of our audit plan during the year. The data are held securely on our corporate network. The Internal Audit Unit provide a shared service audit to a number of agencies and NDPBs within the Home Office Group, however the process for recording audit progress is consistent across all of them.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) her Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by her Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The following tables show the number of press officers and communications officers employed by the Department, its agencies and each non-departmental public body.
	The figures show members of staff who are Government Communications Network (GCN) accredited, between the grades of assistant information officer and senior information officer (a-d).
	Other positions with a communications remit (e) include staff who carry out a communications role within their job or who are not GCN accredited and are managers.
	
		
			 (i) Department 
			  Number 
			 HO HQ (CD)  
			 (a) Press officers (1)29 
			 (b) Internal communications officers (2)31 
			 (c) External communications officers  
			 (d) Communication strategy officers 9 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 27 
			 (1) Covering GEO and IPS.( 2) Staff roles cover both internal and external. 
		
	
	
		
			 (ii) Agencies 
			  Number 
			 UKBA  
			 (a) Press officers (1)13 
			 (b) Internal communications officers (2)40 
			 (c) External communications officers (2)39 
			 (d) Communication strategy officers 8 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 18 
			   
			 CRB  
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 11 
			   
			 Identity and Passport Service (IPS)  
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 9 
			 (1) Regional.( 2) Includes staff at GCN and non GCN grades. 
		
	
	
		
			 (iii) Non -d epartmental  p ublic  b odies 
			  Number 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)  
			 (a) Press officers 5 
			 (b) Internal communications officers 1.6 
			 (c) External communications officers 2 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 2.5 
			   
			 Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)  
			 (b) Internal communications officers 2 
			 (c) External communications officers (1)5 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 2 
			   
			 National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)  
			 (a) Press officers 3 
			 (b) Internal communications officers 1 
			 (c) External communications officers 5 
		
	
	
		
			 (d) Communication strategy officers 2 
			   
			 Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)  
			 (a) Press officers 2 
			 (b) Internal communications officers 2 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 5 
			   
			 Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)  
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit (2)2 
			   
			 Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)  
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 3 
			   
			 Security Industry Authorit y (SI A)  
			 (a) Press officers 2 
			 (b) Internal communications officers 2 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) External communications officers 4 
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 1 
			   
			 National Fraud Authority (NFA)  
			 (e) Other positions with a communications remit 4 
			 (1) These staff also fulfil the role of press officers, alongside other external communication responsibilities.( 2 )The posts cover internal and external communication as well as a Stakeholder Engagement and Policy remit.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which services her Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The services which the Home Department, including its executive agencies, has outsourced in the past five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Contractor Outsourced service 
			 2007 Tele performance Identity and Passport Service; Service to manage contact via telephone and e-mail. 
			 2008 Tele performance Identity and Passport Service; Handling of Passport Validation Service. 
			 2009 Steria Identity and Passport Service Business Process Outsourcing; mail handling, cashiering, scanning, query handling and certain data verification 
			 2009 CSC Identity and Passport Service; Provision of ICT services 
			 2011 Anne's Gate Property Home Office; Messenger Services

Deportation: Pakistan

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported to Pakistan from (a) Pendle constituency, (b) East Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: In answering this question, I have taken deportation to mean removal.
	1. The number of individuals removed to Pakistan since 1 January 2004 who were living in the Pendle constituency is 89.
	2. The number of individuals removed to Pakistan since 1 January 2004 who were resident in East Lancashire (including Pendle) is 333.
	3. The number of individuals removed to Pakistan since 1 January 2004 is 20,588
	Figures prior to 2004 are not centrally held.
	Figures quoted for parts 1 and 2 are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks.
	Figures quoted for part 3 are taken from the “Immigration Statistics: July - September 2011” release, which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office’s Science, Research and Statistics web pages at:
	http://homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Domestic Violence

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women who were victims of domestic violence offences in 2010 had previously been a victim of domestic violence by another partner.

Lynne Featherstone: Latest available data from the 2008-09 British Crime Survey are provided in the following table showing the proportion of victims, aged 16 to 59, of partner abuse in the last 12 months who had been abused by two or more partners since the age of 16.
	
		
			 Adults aged 16-59 who were victims of partner abuse in the last year by number of abusive partners since the age of 16, by sex 
			 Percentage 
			 Self-completion module, 2008-09 BCS, England and Wales 
			  Men Women All 
			 One partner 46 55 52 
			 Two or more partners 10 22 18 
			 Two partners 9 15 13 
			 Three partners 1 5 4 
			 More than three partners 1 2 2 
			     
			 Do not know 17 5 9 
			 Do not want to answer 26 18 21 
			     
			 Unweighted base 360 813 1,173 
			 Notes: 1. Partner abuse includes non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual assault and stalking. 2. Percentages include those who could not or did not wish to answer.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to minimise the reduction in education export levels arising from the proposed changes to student visas.

Damian Green: The Government's fundamental reforms of student visas will tighten up the system, tackle abuse and ensure we continue to attract the brightest and the best students from across the world. No permanent limit has been placed on student visas.

Extradition: USA

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Immigration to the debate of 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 191WH, on extradition, 
	(1)  how many people were extradited from the US to the UK in (a) each year between 2004 and 2010 and (b) 2011 to date; and how many such people were US nationals;
	(2)  how many people were extradited from the UK to the US in (a) each year between 2004 and 2010 and (b) 2011 to date; and how many such people were UK citizens.

Damian Green: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The following table provides the figures requested.
	
		
			  Number of extraditions from the US to the UK under the 2003 Act Number of extraditions from the US to the UK under the 1989 Act Number of US nationals (1) 
			 2004 2 2 n/k 
			 2005 1 0 n/k 
			 2006 3 1 n/k 
			 2007 7 0 0 
			 2008 10 0 1 
			 2009 7 0 0 
			 2010 5 0 2 
			 2011(1) 4 0 2 
			 Totals 39 3 5 
			 (1) Figures for 2011 are up to 29 November 2011 
		
	
	For the purposes of the question, we have taken the “UK” as meaning England and Wales. Scotland deals with its own US cases—as did Northern Ireland until 1 April 2008.
	The figures provided on the number of US citizens surrendered to the UK in the Westminster Hall debate on 24 November 2011, Official Report, column 191WH, were incorrect. The following figures have been updated in the light of the most recent available information about the nationality of persons extradited.
	Information regarding the nationality of those extradited to the UK from the United States has not in the past been routinely recorded, though records have been kept since 2007. Between 2004 and 2006 there were nine extraditions from the US to the UK, however, we have no systematic record of the nationality of the persons extradited.
	The following table provides the figures requested.
	
		
			  Number of extraditions from the UK to the US under the 2003 Act Number of extraditions from the UK to the US under the 1989 Act Number of UK nationals (1) 
			 2004 3 5 2 
			 2005 8 4 6 
			 2006 16 3 (2)10 
			 2007 8 1 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 6 0 2 
			 2009 16 0 (3)4 
			 2010 10 2 1 
			 2011(1) 8 0 2 
			 Total 75 15 27 
			 (1) Figures for 2011 are up to 29 November 2011. (2) Inc. one US/UK dual national. (3) Inc. one UK/Iran dual national. 
		
	
	For the purposes of the question, we have taken the “UK” as meaning England and Wales. Scotland deals with its own US cases—as did Northern Ireland until 1 April 2008.

Firearms

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal damage cases recorded by the Metropolitan police have involved the use of firearms yet have not been recorded as a gun crime in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 to date.

Nick Herbert: The requested information is not available centrally.

Fireworks: Crime

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to how many incidents involving fireworks police were called in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office. It is not possible to identify either incidents or offences relating to fireworks from the police recorded crime statistics collected and published by the Home Office.

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive and the government of Ireland on human trafficking.

Damian Green: The Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland, David Ford, is a member of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group which I chair to oversee the work of the UK Government on human trafficking. The group last met on 11 October 2011; the Minister for Justice was unable to attend. The group will meet again in April 2012.

Identity and Passport Service: Compensation

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money the Identity and Passport Service has refunded to customers in circumstances where agreed levels of service were not met in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: For the seven months ending 31 October 2011, the Identity and Passport Service did not meet agreed levels of services in 572 instances, resulting in refunds of £24,332 to its customers. Information for the previous five months is not readily available without incurring disproportionate cost.

Identity Cards

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the final cost in (a) compensation and (b) decommissioning costs for the identity card scheme.

Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11 reported that termination costs of the identity card scheme were £20,175. Within this total was £2,126 of contractual compensation payments to suppliers to the identity card scheme, the remaining £18,049 costs were associated with decommissioning the identity card scheme.
	A breakdown of these costs is provided in the Identity and Passport Service Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11, an electronic version of which is available in the Identity and Passport Service section of the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/ips/

Migration: EU Countries

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British EU nationals are resident in the UK; and how many UK nationals are resident in EU countries outside the UK.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking how many non-British EU nationals are resident in the UK; and how many UK nationals are resident in EU countries outside the UK (85033).
	The most recent estimate of the number of non-British EU nationals who reside in the UK is 2,081,000 with a corresponding margin of error of +/- 62,000. This estimate, along with other published Population by Country of Birth and Nationality estimates, is based on the Annual Population Survey and relates to the 12 month period of April 2010 to March 2011. These can be found on the ONS website, table 2.1 & 2.2 at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-235204
	The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not collect information regarding UK nationals resident outside the UK. However, Eurostat publishes figures on population by citizenship for EU countries, these are available at:
	http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/database

Police: Baton Rounds

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is issued to police forces on the deployment of baton rounds; and how any such deployment is authorised.

Nick Herbert: The police no longer use baton rounds. They were replaced in June 2005 when the attenuating energy projectile was introduced into service. The attenuating energy projectile is an impact round and performs very differently from baton rounds.
	Use of the attenuating energy projectile is regulated by the Home Office ‘Code of Practice on the Police use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons’ (2003).
	The Association of Chief Police Officers’ ‘Manual of Guidance on the Management, Command and Deployment of Armed Officers’ (2011) provides operational context to the code of practice. Guidance on the use of the attenuating energy projectile in public order situations is also provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers’ ‘Manual of Guidance on Keeping the Peace’ (2010).
	Both the code of practice and the Manual of Guidance on the Management, Command and Deployment of Armed Officers make it clear that deployment and use of the attenuating energy projectile is an operational matter for the chief constable of the relevant force area to authorise.

Police: Demonstrations

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with police forces in England on the policing of (a) English Defence League and (b) British National party marches; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office routinely discusses with the police issues which raise public, media and parliamentary interest, including marches by the English Defence League and the British National party.

Police: Finance

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential savings to police budgets arising from (a) centralised procurement and (b) force collaboration in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Nick Herbert: The Government estimate that by end of March 2015 £200 million per annum of savings can be made from the procurement of non-IT goods and services via the Collaborative Police Procurement Programme (CPPP). To date, over £70 million has been delivered against these estimates for non-IT.
	The Government have been clear that there is also potential for at least £180 million of savings per annum through ICT. At its simplest, it cannot be sensible for there to be some 2,000 IT systems across 43 forces, employing 5,000 staff.
	The Government have established a programme within the Home Office to oversee the establishment of a police-led ICT company. A key objective of the ICT company will be to improve the value for money that the police service receives from its spend on ICT services.
	A report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, due in January 2012, will provide a comprehensive picture of the types of collaboration that exist, the barriers to collaboration and equally those factors that enable progress to be made in making savings and improving efficiency. The report will, for the first time, identify the savings that can be derived from collaborating across a range of different functions.

Repatriation: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on assisted voluntary return in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what the (a) mean and (b) median cost per return was in each such year.

Damian Green: The Assisted Voluntary Returns programme (AVR) is made up of three schemes:
	Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP);
	Assisted Voluntary Returns of Irregular Migrants (AVRIM); and
	Assisted Voluntary Returns for Families and Children (AVRFC).
	The AVR programme includes applying for travel documentation, flights, transport to the airport, assistance on departure, transits if applicable and transport from the arrival airport. It also includes reintegration support up to a maximum of £1,500 for VARRP, £2,000 for AVRFC and £1,000 for vulnerable AVRIM departures. Not all those who leave are eligible for, or indeed take advantage of, the reintegration assistance.
	The UK Border Agency spent £4,325,272 on the programme in 2008-09 to return 4,558 people. A further £4,066,623 was spent from the European Refugee Fund.
	In 2009-10, £11,935,519 was spent by the UK Border Agency to return 5,132 people. A further £3,974,777 was allocated by the European Refugee Fund.
	In 2010-11, £5,763,551 was spent by the UK Border Agency to return 3,989 people. A further £5,090,793 was allocated by the European Refugee Fund.
	European Refugee Fund data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are yet to be audited and we are therefore unable to provide total expenditure for those years. The mean cost per return based solely on the amount spent by the UK Border Agency is:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008-09 949 
			 2009-10 2,325 
			 2010-11 1,444 
		
	
	Information on the cost of each return is not collated centrally. To calculate the median cost per return would therefore require examination of individual records which could be done only at disproportionate cost.

UK Border Agency: Manpower

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff who have left the UK Border Agency in the last two years have been offered contract work in border control during the London 2012 Olympic Games; and at what cost.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 November 2011
	The UK Border Agency (UKBA) Olympics Programme have, to date, trained 25 former staff of which 11 left UKBA in the last two years. 16 additional former employees are currently booked in for refresher training during December and all 16 left UKBA in the last two years.
	In total UKBA will be recruiting approximately 120 former staff to be deployed to the border for a maximum of 20 days during the two peak arrivals periods immediately ahead of the opening ceremonies next year. The total pay cost for that deployment next year is currently estimated to be £508,000.

TREASURY

Child Care Vouchers

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of child care vouchers by (a) employers and (b) employees;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the number of parents who use child care vouchers.

David Gauke: Child care vouchers are an employer provided benefit. The Government support this benefit by providing a limited tax exemption for both employers and employees.
	Since child care vouchers are not always the best option for individuals it is not appropriate for the Government to encourage their uptake. We aim to enable both employers and employees to make an informed decision by making available guidance and information principally via the HMRC website.
	In addition HMRC maintains regular dialogue with the child care voucher business sector.
	Figures provided to HMRC by the major voucher providers suggest that the total number of voucher recipients in the quarter ending in September 2011 was approximately 500,000.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: HM Treasury outsourced its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) service to Fujitsu Services Ltd in June 2009.

Enterprise Zones: Wales

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on capital allowances in relation to the implementation of enterprise zones in Wales; and what the (a) dates and (b) details were of each such discussion.

David Gauke: Treasury Officials have had a number of telephone and email discussions with the Welsh Government on enhanced capital allowances in enterprise zones and met on 19 October 2011. The discussions were about the design of the allowance and the process for the Welsh Government and the Treasury agreeing the location of qualifying zones.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to ensure payments are made to Equitable Life policyholders who are eligible for compensation under the Government's compensation scheme before Christmas.

Mark Hoban: The scheme started making payments on 30 June this year, and hundreds of payments have been made to date. The scheme will be publishing a report on the volume and value of payments made to date in the new year.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions he has met with the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss the introduction of a fiscally-neutral fuel duty stabiliser.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policy making process. HM Treasury publishes a list of Ministers' meetings involving external organisations online at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Excise Duties: Fuels

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to extending the fuel duty discount pilot scheme;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost of extending the fuel duty discount pilot scheme to rural North Yorkshire.

Chloe Smith: The Government recently secured EU clearance for the introduction of a 5p per litre rural fuel rebate pilot scheme in the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Northern Isles, islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly. The scheme will come into force on 1 March 2012. Beyond this pilot scheme, nothing has been ruled in or out.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the level of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy on the general insurance intermediary class in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Mark Hoban: Information on the levies collected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is made publically available in their annual reports. The reports show the following figures for total levies received from the general insurance intermediation class:
	
		
			  Total levies received (£ million) 
			 2008-09 2.01 
			 2009-10 7,98 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 57.23

National Insurance Contributions

Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to extending the national insurance contributions holiday to micro-businesses which employ a young person. [R]

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the proposal by the Federation of Small Businesses to reduce national insurance contributions for micro-businesses that employ a young person aged between 16 and 24 years.

David Gauke: On 25 November, the Government announced an ambitious programme for tackling youth unemployment. Starting in 2012, the Youth Contract will deliver:
	an additional 250,000 work experience or sector based work academy places for every unemployed 18 to 24-year-old;
	more Jobcentre Plus support for 18 to 24-year-olds, including, extra advisor time and a careers interview from the National Careers Service and weekly, rather than fortnightly, signing;
	a total of 160,000 wage incentive places (at £2,275 each) to make it easier for employers to take on young people;
	additional funding to support the growth of 16-24 apprenticeships, ensuring the funding for at least 40,000 incentive payments (at £1,500 each) for employers next year to raise demand for 16-24 apprenticeships; and
	a new £50 million a year programme for those 16 and 17-year-olds not in employment, education or training to get them learning, on an apprenticeship or in a job with training.

Non-domestic Rates: Business

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on plans to mitigate the effect on small retail businesses of the increase in business rates planned for April 2012.

David Gauke: The Government's commitment to the annual RPI cap on business rates means that there has been no real terms increase in business rates since 1990.
	The Government announced in the autumn statement two measures to support businesses, including small retail businesses.
	The Government will extend the small business rate relief holiday for a further six months from 1 October 2012 and will give all businesses the opportunity to defer 60 per cent of the increase in their 2012-13 business rate bills as a result of the RPI uprating, to be repaid equally across the following two years.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Chloe Smith: The Treasury does not use postcodes for purposes other than correspondence.

Public Expenditure

Gavin Barwell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate total public spending (a) in 2009-10 in current prices and (b) if it increased by the rate of inflation from 1997-98 onwards.

Danny Alexander: Total public spending in 2009-10 in current prices was £689.3 billion.
	In real terms total public spending increased in every year until 2010-11; it then decreases until 2016-17.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which HM Revenue and Customs departments redeployed staff for new anti-evasion and avoidance jobs will work in; and when they will begin work in their new roles.

David Gauke: Redeployment has already started and will continue throughout the whole of the spending review period.
	Individuals from all businesses will be considered for redeployment into new anti-evasion and avoidance posts as their current roles within their present business areas come to an end.
	HMRC is continuing to consider the bulk redeployment of whole teams into compliance-related operations and will take the opportunity to do so as these arise.

Taxation: Business

Michael Crockart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria HM Revenue and Customs uses to decide when to (a) change the terms of payment plans for companies in arrears and (b) seek a legal remedy in such cases.

David Gauke: An agreement allowing a company time to pay is monitored by HMRC to ensure the agreed terms are maintained.
	Should the terms of the time to pay agreement be breached by the company HMRC will review the position using the same criteria that were applied when the initial request for time to pay was made. The same will apply should the company notify HMRC that its circumstances have changed during the term of the agreement.
	Where the company cannot show that it is a viable concern or cannot offer payment over a reasonable period HMRC will seek a legal remedy.

Taxation: Carbon Emissions

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider using revenue from the carbon tax to fund measures to promote energy efficiency.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith), on 26 October 2011, Official Report, column 237W.

Taxation: Olympic Games 2012

Diane Abbott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what taxation arrangements will apply to visiting athletes and staff for the London 2012 Olympics; what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of revenue accruing to the Exchequer of these arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The International Olympic Committee required all bids for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to include certain tax commitments.
	London's bid to host the Games therefore offered, and we have legislated for, a number of tax exemptions for certain non-residents who are competing in the Games or are involved in making them a success.
	The Exchequer cost of the exemption will be zero. Where tax exemptions are an explicit condition of hosting a sporting event, providing them is not considered a scoreable cost because there can be no forecast revenues before a bid is successful and the exemptions are a key factor in securing the bid.

VAT: Aviation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the application of VAT to (a) intra-community and (b) international flights.

David Gauke: No VAT is chargeable on intra-EU or international air passenger transport.
	Air freight services supplied to business customers are only subject to UK VAT where the customer is based in the UK. Similar services supplied to non-business customers are subject to UK VAT where the flight begins in the UK and is wholly within the EU. However, no VAT is due where goods are either exported to—or imported from—outside the EU.

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average amount is of tax credits paid to households with capital of (a) £15,900 and (b) between £15,000 and £15,999.

David Gauke: holding answer 25 November 2011
	The requested information is not available. The tax credits administrative system does not collect information on the capital of claimants.

CABINET OFFICE

Average Earnings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average hourly rate of pay was for (a) each decile of the working population and (b) the top 1% of earners in current prices in (i) 1981 and (ii) 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average hourly rate of pay was for (a) each decile of the working population and (b) the top one per cent of earners in current prices in (i) 1981 and (ii) 2011. (84462)
	Average levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.
	The ASHE replaced the New Earnings Survey (NES) in 2004. NES covered Great Britain (GB) only and the comparative estimates available from NES are the quartiles, median and the top and bottom deciles. NES did not publish estimates for all employees and estimates for full-time employees are only published from 1984. For consistency across ASHE and NES, estimates are provided for the quartiles, median and the top and bottom deciles for full-time GB employees.
	The following tables show the quartiles, deciles and the top and bottom deciles for hourly pay excluding overtime for full-time GB employees in April 1984 and April 2011 and also these estimates expressed in 2011 prices using RPI as a price deflator.
	
		
			 Hourly pay excluding overtime for full-time GB employee jobs (1) , April 1984 and April 2011 
			 £ 
			  Quartiles, median, top and bottom deciles 
			  10 25 50 75 90 
			 1984 2.10 2.60 3.37 4.58 6.34 
			 2011 7.03 8.98 12.67 18.65 26.90 
			 (1) GB full-time employee jobs on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. Source: 1984 estimates are sourced from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and 2011 estimates are sourced from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			 Hourly pay excluding overtime at April 2011 prices (1) , 1984 
			 £ 
			  Quartiles, median, top and bottom deciles 
			  10 25 50 75 90 
			 1984 5.56 6.86 8.92 12.10 16.75 
			 (1) Estimates of earnings at 2011 prices have been derived using the retail prices index as the price deflator. Source: 1984 estimates are sourced from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and 2011 estimates are sourced from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics.

British Overseas Territories: Cabinet Committees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether any Cabinet sub-committee has discussed the inclusion in the Overseas Territories White Paper of a target to halt overall loss of biodiversity by 2010 in all British Overseas Territories.

Oliver Letwin: In line with the constitutional convention of collective decision-making, and section 2 of the Ministerial Code, the Government do not disclose details of the internal process through which decisions are taken. The contents of the Overseas Territories White Paper are a matter for Ministers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Communities First Fund

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets his Department has set for the Community First scheme; and how his Department plans to monitor performance against such targets.

Nick Hurd: Community First is a small grants programme for England with a budget of up to £30 million over four years for funding to neighbourhood groups in targeted wards, and up to £50 million for an endowment match challenge. The Community First programme has been developed to encourage people to come together to make their neighbourhood a better place to live. The design of the programme is to ensure improvements are community-led and that people take responsibility for those things that they can do themselves.
	The endowment match challenge is being delivered in partnership with the Community Foundation Network. The small grants money is administered by the Community Development Foundation (CDF). The Cabinet Office monitors the performance of our delivery partners.
	The programme aims to stimulate more social action. CDF will monitor this through the funding applications they receive from the panels and through monitoring the websites each panel creates to aid local visibility and transparency.

Communities First Fund

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in establishing the Community First scheme.

Nick Hurd: Community First is a small grants programme for England with a budget of up to £30 million over four years for funding to neighbourhood groups in targeted wards, and up to £50 million for an endowment match challenge.
	The small grants money is administered by the Community Development Foundation. They began the process of developing local neighbourhood Community First panels on 4 October 2011.
	The endowment match challenge is being delivered in partnership with the Community Foundation Network and its members.

Cybercrime

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many meetings he has had with Ministers from the devolved administrations in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland regarding the implementation of the UK Cyber Security Strategy; and what matters have been discussed at such meetings.

Francis Maude: I have not met Ministers from the devolved Administrations to discuss implementation of the Cyber Security Strategy. However, officials from Cabinet Office met with their counterparts from the Scottish Government.
	Relevant officials from the devolved Administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were consulted during the formulation of the strategy, invited to comment on early drafts and their input was incorporated into the final strategy.

Cybercrime: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK Cyber Security Strategy involves Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: The Government recently launched the Cyber Security Strategy and have committed to helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK as they are crucial to the UK's economic growth.
	We will ensure SMEs across the UK can play their part as drivers of new ideas and innovation by bringing forward proposals to help them fully access the value of public procurement as part of the Growth Review. This will include setting an expectation that at least 25% of the value of Government cyber security contracts go to SMEs.
	We are also exploring options such as a Government-sponsored venture capital model to unlock innovation on cyber security in SMEs under plans to explore ways in which the world-class expertise in cyber security held by GCHQ can benefit economic growth and support the development of the UK cyber security sector.
	UK Trade and Investment will also work to promote the UK's cyber security industry abroad in order to open up foreign markets to SMEs.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 May 2011, Official Report, columns 89-90W.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by third parties.

Nick Hurd: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The services that have been outsourced to external contractors by the Cabinet Office in the last five years are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Service 
			 2007-08 Telecommunications support services 
			  Security guarding services 
			   
			 2010-11 Training and related administrative services

Public Relations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the monetary value was of (a) public opinion research and (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in (i) London and (ii) elsewhere in each of the last five years.

Francis Maude: The information requested is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost. Through the implementation of strong controls on marketing and advertising, the Government have reduced expenditure through the Central Office of Information on relevant categories by 80%, or £400 million, in 2010-11.
	Details of departmental expenditure over £25,000 by my Department are available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-co

Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the list of executive search companies on (a) Lot 1 of the Cabinet Office call off contract and (b) all other lots of the Cabinet Office call off contract; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The suppliers listed under Lot 1 (All Specialist Areas, all Sectors and all Functions) of the Cabinet Office Executive Search Framework are listed as follows:
	Appointments Commission
	Equal Approach (formally CHH Recruitment Limited)
	Egon Zehnder
	Gatenby Sanderson
	Hays
	Hudson
	Korn-Ferry Whitehead Mann
	Maloney Search
	Odgers Berndston
	Penna
	Rockpools
	Russell Reynolds
	Saxton Bampfylde
	Veredus
	Suppliers under all other lots of the Cabinet Office Executive Search Framework are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Supplier 
			 Lot 2 (HR Function) Green Park 
			   
			 Lot 3 (IT Sector) Harvey Nash 
			  Elan Computing 
			   
		
	
	
		
			 Lot 4 (Communications and Marketing Sector) CJA Group 
			  Green Park 
			  Morgan Hunt 
			  Taylor Bennett 
			   
			 Lot 5 (Commercial and Procurement Function) Capita 
			  CJA Group 
			  Dickinson Smith Buss 
			   
			 Lot 6 (Social and Operational research, Economics, Statistics and Science and Engineering) BiSGeorge Henderson 
			  CJA Group 
			   
			 Lot 7 (Finance and Audit Function) Morgan McKinley 
			  Hoggett Bowers 
			  Morgan Hunt 
			  Northern Recruitment Group 
			   
			 Lot 8 (all Other Functions/Sectors not covered under Lot 2 to Lot 10 inclusive) Capita 
			  Harvey Nash 
			   
			 Lot 9 (Health Sector) Capita 
			  Harvey Nash 
			   
			 Lot 10 (Diversity Function) Green Park 
			   
			 Lot 11 (All Activities associated with Assessment) Capita 
			  Gatenby Sanderson 
			  Odgers Berndston 
			  OPP 
			  Penna 
			  Rachel Frost 
			  Right Management 
			  Rockpools 
			  Tribal Resourcing

Federation of Student Islamic Societies

David Lammy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 272W, on the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence between the Home Office and civil service fast stream officials regarding the status of the October Federation of Student Islamic Societies event.

Francis Maude: It is not departmental policy to release e-mails into the public domain. On that basis correspondence cannot be provided.

G4S

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many contracts his Department has awarded to G4S since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each such contract.

Francis Maude: Since May 2010, the Cabinet Office has made one payment of £337.11 (VAT inclusive) to G4S Secure Solutions (UK) Ltd. This was for additional security guards for a press event held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 10 June 2010.

Government Departments: Printing

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department is making on encouraging greater use of shared print services across government.

Francis Maude: A phased implementation programme is fully under way to ‘onboard’ central Government Departments to the Print Vendor Partner contract. One Department has already joined with the remainder scheduled to join over the coming months and in line with the expiry of existing contractual arrangements.

Government Departments: Printing

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the potential savings to Government Departments through use of shared print services.

Francis Maude: The Print Vendor Partner contract is estimated to save £21 million over its four-year duration.

Government Departments: Procurement

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of Government contracts were aggregated into larger contracts as part of the procurement process in the latest period for which figures are available.

Francis Maude: holding answer 1 December 2011
	This information is not held centrally as centralised contracts aggregate spend rather than other contracts. The data we hold show that in 2010-11, £2.5 billion of central Government expenditure was aggregated using Government Procurement Service contracts.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made towards meeting the Government's target that 25% of central Government supplies are procured from small and medium-sized enterprises.

Francis Maude: The Government have made progress in encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to compete for Government contracts. We have published a progress report on “Making Government business more accessible to SMEs”. This can be found at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/government-business-smes
	Departments' total procurement spend and direct spend with SMEs are published in their Quarterly Data Summary on departmental websites and the No. 10 website. The most recent figures are for October 2011. They can be found at:
	www.number10.gov.uk/news/business-plan-data-oct11/

Infrastructure: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what critical national infrastructure is (a) based in Scotland and (b) under the legislative competence of the Scottish Government.

Francis Maude: For reasons of national security we do not publish details of what is assessed to be critical national infrastructure (CNI) or provide information about location.
	Responsibility for critical national infrastructure sites within Scotland varies depending on whether sectors or sub-sectors are devolved or reserved. Devolved sectors are the responsibility of the Scottish Government; and reserved sectors the responsibility of sector sponsor Departments.
	The Home Office also bears risk at Government level arising from its responsibility for UK national security and counter-terrorism policy including CNI protection (from national security threats).

Members: Correspondence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  when he expects to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Hammersmith of 17 October 2011 on ministerial conflicts of interest;
	(2)  when he plans to reply to question 81383 on ministerial conflicts of interest, tabled on 11 November 2011 for answer on 15 November 2011.

Francis Maude: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The Cabinet Secretary replied to the hon. Member on 30 November 2011.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Francis Maude: With the exception of the Government Digital Service whose website uses a postcode look-up to direct users to services provided on local authority websites, the Cabinet Office does not use postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail or to confirm addresses.

Public Sector: Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 706-7W, on public sector: pay, if he will provide numerical estimates for employees in each category.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question which was pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 706-7W, on public sector pay, asking that numerical estimates for employees in each category be provided. (84084)
	The original question asked how many public sector workers who worked (a) part-time and (b) full-time received a salary of less than £15,000 per annum in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many part-time public sector workers earned less than £15,000 per annum and received a full-time equivalent salary of greater than £15,000.(79794)
	Annual levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year. ASHE methodology cannot be used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is less than a specific amount, but can be used to provide estimates of percentage of employees in that category. These proportions can be applied to employment estimates from the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey and the Labour Force Survey.
	In April 2010 the estimate for the number of public sector jobs taken from the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey is 6.3 million and the estimate for the proportion of part-time employees taken from the Labour Force Survey is 30 per cent. Based on these estimates there were 4.4 million full-time public sector workers and 1.9 million part-time public sector workers in April 2010.
	From these sources it is estimated that 1.3 million part-time and 0.3 million full-time public sector employees earned less than £15,000 per annum in April 2010. Of the part-time public sector employees who earned less than £15,000 per annum, ONS estimates that 0.8 million received a full-time equivalent salary greater than £15,000. Full-time equivalent salaries were derived from annual pay by pro-rating the part-time employees' paid hours worked to the median estimate of paid hours worked by full-time employees in the public sector.

Public Sector: Pensions

Frank Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he last met representatives of the TUC to discuss the public sector pension dispute.

Francis Maude: Details of Cabinet Office Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations

Public Sector: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the public sector in Redditch in each of the next three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of people employed in the public sector in Redditch in each of the next three years (84822).
	ONS does not produce forecasts for public sector employment, therefore figures are not available. For the 12 month period ending March 2011 it was estimated that 13,000 people were employed in the public sector in Redditch.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.

Social Justice Committee

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many meetings of the Social Justice Committee (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have attended since its establishment.

Francis Maude: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Stationery Office: Security

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with The Stationery Office on secure storage of Government documents prior to publication.

Francis Maude: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The Stationery Office is subject to the same security and confidentiality considerations as any other third party supplier to Government. This includes complying with best practice standards for Information Assurance such as the British Standard BS27000 series. Where sensitive Government information is concerned then more robust requirements may apply, as set out in the HMG Security Policy Framework, available from the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/resource-library/security-policy-framework
	I have not held any meetings with The Stationery Office to discuss storage issues. The National Archives (TNA) manages the contract with The Stationery Office for the publication of legislation and statutory instruments, this includes appropriate security requirements.

Voluntary Work

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in establishing the Community Organisers programme.

Nick Hurd: The Community Organisers programme is currently working in over 20 areas across England in mostly disadvantaged communities, with further areas being added over the lifetime of the programme. 47 organisers have begun their 12 month training programme and are now working in their communities, with a further 41 to begin their training later this week.

Voluntary Work

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets his Department has set for the Community Organisers programme; and how his Department plans to monitor performance against such targets.

Nick Hurd: The coalition Government announced their commitment to train 5,000 community organisers over the lifetime of this Parliament. The Community Organisers programme is about stimulating and supporting greater social action, especially in areas of high deprivation.
	The Government have appointed Locality to deliver the Community Organisers programme at arm’s length from Government. Over the four-year period, Locality expects to recruit between 100-200 local organisations across England to host community organisers. Recruitment of community organisers is undertaken locally by host organisations.
	The Cabinet Office monitors the quality and number of host organisations and community organisers through monthly programme board meetings and reporting cycles.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with organisations representing deaf young people on improving access to National Citizen Service programmes for (a) deaf young people and (b) other young people with a disability.

Nick Hurd: It is important that young people with disabilities, including young deaf people, are able to play a full part in the National Citizen Service. The Cabinet Office sought advice from disability organisations to produce a plan to enable young people with disabilities to take part, which providers were assessed on. We will learn from the evaluation of the 2011 pilots, due to be published in February 2012, to further ensure that there are no barriers to participating in the National Citizen Service. Department for Education staff plan to meet with The National Deaf Children's Society in the new year to discuss how to improve access to the National Citizen Service.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department has taken to ensure deaf young people have access to National Citizen Service programmes.

Nick Hurd: During the bidding process for the 2012 pilots, providers were closely assessed on how they would adapt their programmes to support participants with additional needs. They have planned a range of measures for the recruitment and activity phases.
	Providers of the 2011 pilots made a range of adaptations to allow deaf young people to participate. These included in-kind support from the National Deaf Children’s Society including a volunteer interpreter; use of hearing loops where available; awareness training for staff working with the young person; use of text messaging; and allowing peer supporters to attend with the young person. Providers will be supported to build on this for delivery in 2012.
	The independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service will provide further detail on providers' effectiveness at addressing any barriers to participation, and the Department will ensure that any lessons from this are learnt and implemented. The evaluation is due for publication in February 2012.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaf young people have participated in National Citizen Service programmes to date.

Nick Hurd: An independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service pilot programme is currently collecting and analysing data on the characteristics of the young people who took part across the 12 pilot schemes in 2011. That work will conclude shortly and I will then be able to provide the House with a full update.

Deparmental Written Questions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to answer question 12456 from the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire on Public Opinion Research, tabled on 6 September 2010.

Francis Maude: I replied to the hon. Member today.

TRANSPORT

Special Advisers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether draft answers to parliamentary questions prepared by officials in her Department are cleared by special advisers (a) before and (b) after the relevant Minister.

Norman Baker: Special advisers may on occasion contribute to the answers to parliamentary questions at appropriate points in the drafting process. Ministers clear questions for publication. Special advisers do not.

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on the future of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Government are minded to abolish the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) as a statutory body but will explore options for continuing to gain the disability advice they need through a more flexible, accountable structure. I made a written ministerial statement on 7 June 2011, Official Report, columns 21-2WS, seeking views and evidence with regard to potential successor arrangements. I also held a workshop with stakeholders on 11 July.
	These views have informed the possible successor arrangements and I intend to consult formally on these early in the new year.
	I will consider the responses to this consultation, including whether those responses affect the decision to abolish DPTAC.

Driving Instruction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with (a) the police and (b) other public bodies on the potential benefits of providing preparatory training to young people before they learn to drive; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not had any discussions on this issue. I have discussed the benefits of improving the learning to drive process with a number of stakeholders.
	While understanding road safety issues from a young age is important, research suggests that giving pre-learners driving skills before they are 17 years old may not have a road safety benefit.

Driving Instruction

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides for Pathfinder driving schools; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The Driving Standards Agency does not provide financial or other forms of support to Pathfinder driving schools.

East Anglia Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains are in service on the National Express East Anglia Great Eastern Line.

Theresa Villiers: The fleet deployment plan provided by National Express East Anglia for the timetable running from May to December 2011 shows an allocation of 11 locomotive-hauled sets, and 147 electric multiple units to Great Eastern services each day (Monday to Friday).

East Anglia Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of how many trains will be in service on the Great Eastern Line under the new franchise holders.

Theresa Villiers: The successful bid for the Greater Anglia franchise by Abellio Greater Anglia Ltd includes a fleet deployment plan that allocates 11 locomotive-hauled sets and 147 electric multiple units to Great Eastern services each day (Monday to Friday).

East Coast Railway Line

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the adequacy of east coast main line services north of York.

Theresa Villiers: East coast main line services north of York were assessed and revised as part of the development of the new east coast main line timetable that was introduced on 22 May 2011. The adequacy of all train services is under constant review by the train operators.

Felixstowe-Nuneaton Railway Line: Freight

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what financial support her Department provided to the Felixstowe to Nuneaton Phase 2 rail freight upgrade in the last financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: None. However Network Rail has funding for the development of schemes in Control Period 5 (2014 to 2019) and has identified a number of freight schemes in the Initial Industry Plan. These could be developed under the Strategic Freight Network subject to available funding.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will conduct a strategic appraisal of phase II of the planned Y network before a final decision on phase I is undertaken; and if she will postpone taking a decision on whether to proceed with phase I until an appraisal of phase II has been consulted upon.

Justine Greening: The documents published to inform the recent consultation on HS2 provided a strategic assessment of the planned Y network. This included an assessment of the overall case for the proposed network in the main consultation document:
	http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/library/documents/consultation-document
	an assessment of the economic costs and benefits in the Economic Case for HS2:
	http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/library/documents/economic-case
	and an assessment by Atkins of the case for enhancements to existing lines as an alternative to HS2:
	http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/library/documents/strategic-alternatives

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department expects to complete work on (a) train diagrams, (b) projected operating costs and (c) rolling stock purchases for services on the Y network.

Justine Greening: The long-term specification and operation of services on High Speed 2 (HS2), including train diagrams which would inform rolling stock strategies and operating costs, would be a decision for the eventual operator of HS2. It would not be appropriate to decide service specifications so far ahead of the operation of the potential HS2 service due to the uncertainty around how the rail market might develop in the interim. It has been necessary to make informed assumptions about service specifications and about associated rolling stock requirement costs in order to assess the case for new high speed lines, which are set out in chapter two of the Economic Case for HS2, but these are one possible option only and so should be taken as illustrative only. Subject to the outcome of the public consultation, these proposals would be developed as part of the ongoing development of the business case for HS2.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department expects to produce a comprehensive statement of the likely patterns of services on the classic network after High Speed 2 is operational.

Justine Greening: It would not be appropriate to take decisions on service specifications more than a decade in advance of even the first phase of HS2 opening.
	In order to inform the development of the case for the initial phase of the proposed network, HS2 Ltd developed an illustrative classic network service specification, which was published in the Technical Appendices to its original March 2010 report, available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/technicalappendix/
	As part of its current work on route options for the second phase of the proposed network, HS2 Ltd will consider potential classic network service specifications taking into account released capacity from the full Y network on the west coast, east coast and midland main lines.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Scotland

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the potential benefits to the Scottish economy of the proposed High Speed 2 network.

Justine Greening: Table 6.5 of HS2 Ltd's Demand and Appraisal Report
	http://www.hs2.org.uk/assets/x/78304
	provides an assessment of the split of benefits between regions according to where trips originate, which shows approximately 5% of overall benefits from the proposed Y network relating to trips beginning in Scotland.
	The Government indicated in the 2010 National Infrastructure Plan their intention over the longer term to continue development of the high-speed rail network and rail connections between the north and south of the country to further reduce journey times to Glasgow and Edinburgh, which would be expected to see the benefits accruing to Scotland increase further.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to her Department will be of reorganising the Maritime Coastguard Agency in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and what steps she is taking to ensure the level of safety is not affected by the closure of coastguard stations.

Michael Penning: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The cost of reorganising the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2011-12 will comprise, largely, the opportunity cost of staff time, including any associated items such as travel and expenses, and the direct costs incurred in running the public meetings held in conjunction with the first public consultation. A more detailed breakdown could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Following the decision announced on 22 November, reorganisation costs for 2012-13 will be dependent on the outcome of, among other things, negotiations with the trade union, and the terms of any contractual or other agreements entered into during the period. There will also be the opportunity costs associated with staff time and associated travel and expenses.
	Throughout this reorganisation the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will continually assess risk; the timetable for Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) closures will remain flexible for operational reasons.
	HM Coastguard will maintain appropriate levels of service during this period by utilising both existing area pairing arrangements and the incremental closure of MRCCs once the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) is commissioned, tested and fully operational.
	The decision to locate the MOC at Kites Croft, Fareham (a site designed and built originally to be the South East Fire Control Centre) removes the requirement to either construct or refurbish an existing building. This enables the MOC to be fully operational at the earliest opportunity, reducing both the complexity and risk involved with setting up the MOC as well as the risk of MRCCs absorbing the workload from the closing stations.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Empty Property

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has for the future of the empty premises (a) owned and (b) leased by the Maritime Coastguard Agency following the closure of coastguard stations in (i) Liverpool and (ii) the UK.

Michael Penning: The maritime rescue co-ordination centres (MRCCs) at Great Yarmouth and Clyde are leased properties and will be vacated at the end of their tenure as agreed with the respective landlords. The MRCCs at Forth, Brixham and Portland are Crown properties and will be sold following vacation.
	The MRCC at Lee-on-Solent is provided under an agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency (formerly South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)) and will be vacated following the opening of the maritime operations centre at Kites Croft, Fareham.
	Under the Coastguard Modernisation programme, the coastguard co-ordination function currently located in the MRCCs at Liverpool, Thames and Swansea will cease; these buildings will remain on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) estate to support other operational coastguard and marine office survey activity in these areas.
	Capacity released at these sites will be utilised to develop and house the coastguard coastal operations hubs outlined in the “Blueprint for Future Coastguard Organisation in the UK” to provide additional management support to the volunteer coastguard rescue service.

Motorways: Garages and Petrol Stations

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the cost of fuel on motorways; and if she will ensure that drivers on motorways are made aware of the comparative cost of fuel at motorway filling stations.

Michael Penning: All motorway service areas are operated on a commercial basis by private companies and the Department for Transport has no powers to control prices charged at the sites.
	There is a requirement to display prices in the service areas. Current signing regulations permit the display of fuel prices on the advanced directional signing for motorway service areas, but it is not a requirement to display prices in advance of the service area.

Railways: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recommendations were made following the incident at Tebay on 15 February 2004 involving a runaway trolley; and what progress has been made implementing such recommendations.

Theresa Villiers: The RSSB (formally the Rail Safety and Standards Board) held an independent inquiry into the Tebay accident of 15 February 2004.
	The report of this inquiry, “Track Worker Fatalities at Tebay on 15 February 2004”, was published in October 2004. It contained 12 recommendations, 10 of which were directed to Network Rail with the remaining two directed to the RSSB. A summary of this report is available at:
	http://www.rssb.co.uk/LEARNING/Documents/FI2884.pdf
	The 10 recommendations directed to Network Rail were closed out in accordance with industry standards between 2005 and 2008. The RSSB has confirmed that all 12 recommendations have now been closed out.

Railways: Franchises

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what external consultants have advised the Government on rail franchising policy in the last 18 months; what the cost of such advice was in each instance; what regular checks were made for potential conflicts of interests; and whether any conflicts of interests were declared. [R]

Theresa Villiers: Advice is being provided by Grant Thornton on stress testing franchise bids, which has an estimated value of £33,000. Advice on a new approach to station leasing is being provided by Faithful and Gould which has an estimated value of £30,000. £129,772 has been spent to date with external lawyers developing contracts for Greater Anglia and Intercity West Coast, and this work is ongoing. Consultants are required to declare potential conflicts of interest during procurement, or that arise afterwards. The Department does not contract if a material conflict of interest exists, and consultants are required to declare any change in circumstances.

Rescue Services: Portland

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the analyses upon which her decision to close the search and rescue helicopter base at Portland was based.

Michael Penning: It is the intention of the Department to publish the basing analysis and assurance review which was used to determine the future basing strategy for search and rescue helicopters. I intend to make this available via the Department for Transport website and it will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate she has made of the likely completion date of the Severn Crossings toll concession.

Michael Penning: The concession on the Severn Crossing will end when either the concessionaire has recovered their costs, or when 30 years have elapsed since the concession began (2022). The concessionaire is currently expected to recover their costs in 2017; but we are negotiating how certain operating costs and historic changes to the tax regime should be handled under the concession agreement.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) she, (b) her immediate predecessor and (c) other Ministers in her Department have had with Severn River Crossings plc and others on the future of the Severn Crossing following the end of the current concession.

Michael Penning: I have stated that no decisions have been taken on the future of the crossing; and Ministers have had no discussions on arrangements after the end of the concession period.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she intends to publish plans for the future of the Severn river crossing following the end of the concession period.

Michael Penning: As I stated to the Welsh Affairs Committee in May, we have made no decisions about the future of the Severn crossings. We have no plans to make any decisions on the crossings while the Welsh Government continue their study of the economic effects of tolling.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) she and (b) her departmental officials have had with Severn River Crossing plc and others on the future of the Severn crossing following the end of the concession agreement.

Michael Penning: Severn River Crossings plc (SRC) is a special purpose vehicle, which will cease to exist when the concession ends. We have had no substantive discussions with SRC about arrangements beyond the end of the concession period.
	My officials are in regular dialogue with the Welsh Government about the Severn crossings, who have made representations about possible options after the concession. No decisions have been taken on the future of the crossings.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2011, Official Report, column 610W, on Thameslink railway line: rolling stock, what management actions Interfleet took and detailed to her Department on each occasion to avoid a conflict of interest. [R]

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 22 November 2011
	Interfleet have robust processes which they employ to manage potential conflicts of interest effectively. The specific arrangements are set out as follows:
	(a) September 2008, Gauging clearance study work for Siemens: This work involved Interfleet checking that Siemens' “City Train” concept vehicle profile would pass along the UK rail network including the Thameslink routes. Interfleet confirmed to the Department that they did not have any staff providing Thameslink bid development support to Siemens or any other bidder in the competition. Consequently, the Department accepted that no conflict of interest would arise.
	(b) January 2009, competition to appoint a Notified Body approvals contract with all the Thameslink bidders (Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi and Siemens): Interfleet Certification Ltd (ICL) is an independent company with procedures and processes which have been set up in accordance with strict regulatory requirements to ensure their independence and impartiality and are subject to regular audit by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) on behalf of the Department. The Department required ICL to ensure that they do not involve any staff who have previously worked on, or planned to work on the Thameslink project for the Department. This confirmation was provided and the Department was, therefore, content that no conflict of interest would occur.
	(c) July 2011, Gauge clearance work for Thameslink preferred bidder (Siemens): Interfleet confirmed that a team completely independent of the Department's Thameslink technical advisor team would support Siemens on this workstream and that they would have no access to or input from the technical advisor or any data obtained as a result of Interfleet's support to the Department. The Department was, therefore, content that no conflict of interest would occur.

WORK AND PENSIONS

AWE: Industrial Health and Safety

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Health and Safety Executive plans to announce its decision on what steps will be taken concerning the Atomic Weapons Establishment following the fire at the Establishment on 3 August 2010; and what the reasons are for the time taken in making this decision.

Chris Grayling: The investigation into the unfortunate event referred to, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, has been thorough and involved detailed and extensive consideration of the incident of 3 August 2010 and the circumstances preceding it. In line with its published procedures and policies for investigation and enforcement, the HSE is currently awaiting independent legal opinion on its report into the incident before a final decision is made. I understand that this opinion is due to be delivered in early January and a decision will be made and announced soon afterwards by the HSE.

Legal Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions in-house litigation division dealt with 4,059 potential or actual claims brought against the Department since the beginning of 2007. The additional information requested such as which of the organisations bringing claims received funding from the Department and relating to the success and costs of these actions is not held on a central record. In order to be able to provide answers, it would be necessary to retrieve the majority of these files from our central storage facility which is located outside of London. Each individual file would then have to be interrogated to establish what information is held, some of these cases will be of a considerable size. I would estimate that this would take at least several weeks and would therefore be at a disproportionate cost.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

Chris Grayling: Where the Department for Work and Pensions is successful in litigation it will normally seek an order that costs are payable. However many litigants are legally aided and the order would not therefore be enforced unless there is a change in financial circumstances. Where funds are potentially available the Department will make an assessment on a case by case basis as to whether securing payment will be cost-effective when the costs of enforcement are taken into account. Costs may be awarded against the Legal Services Commission in limited circumstances and are enforced where they are awarded.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions organises a number of events, both internal and external. These take place throughout the year and are organised by individual teams across the Department.
	There is not a centrally held list of all events that have taken place so it is not possible to provide the details requested as it would be at a disproportionate cost to request and collate the information required.

Departmental Publications

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Department has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each.

Chris Grayling: I can respond to parts of this question, regarding the number and cost of information leaflets and posters that my Department has produced since May 2010.
	The Department has reduced the number of its information leaflets from 49 (in May 2010) to 39. Those remaining are leaflets we must make available to ensure individuals are informed of which benefits are available to them, and details of how to plan and claim their pension; particularly for those who are unable to access similar information on the internet. We spent a total of £328,518.08 (print) and £5,085.00 (design) since May 2010, circulating a total of 6.058 million copies to the public.
	We maintain a small range of around 20 posters, mostly for use in our 750 Jobcentres. Since May 2010 we have spent £18,563.54 (print) and nothing on design (all done in-house), producing a total of 15,265 individual posters (an average 20 posters per Jobcentre).
	I would note that the majority of information leaflets published have been a continuation of materials that are always in print, such as information to the public about benefit and pension entitlement. Indeed, my Department has actually reduced the cost of these with some recent publications on average 34% less expensive than their predecessors published before May 2010.
	On the question about reports, my Department publishes a diverse range of reports across all of its activities; the information is not available/held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Since July 2007, the majority of the Department's design and print is covered by a single print management contract with the iON Consortium, of whom Xerox is the lead supplier.

Employment and Support Allowance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations his Department has received on the time-limiting of contributory employment and support allowance.

Chris Grayling: The proposal to introduce a time limit of one year for those claiming contributory employment and support allowance who are placed in the work-related activity group requires primary legislation and is included in the Welfare Reform Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament.
	Since this measure was announced as part of the spending review in October, both Ministers and officials have met with a number of representatives from organisations representing disabled people, such as Citizens Advice, Macmillan Cancer Support and Disability Alliance. We are continuing to receive representations from these organisations on an ongoing basis.

Employment and Support Allowance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what alternatives to a 12-month time limit on contributory employment and support allowance were considered by his Department; and what the reasons were for not pursuing any such alternatives.

Chris Grayling: The Department considered a number of different periods, but concluded that a time limit of one year gives the best balance between allowing people in the work-related activity group with longer term conditions to adjust to their health condition and paying contribution-based employment and support allowance for an appropriate length of time.
	The time limit does not apply to the most vulnerable in the support group nor the poorest on income-related employment and support allowance. It is double the length of time that people can receive contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance. The Department also considered the needs of the taxpayer as well as claimants in making its decision to introduce a time limit.

Employment and Support Allowance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of time-limiting contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) on benefits advice services and other support organisations; and what discussions his Department has had with organisations, such as Citizens Advice, about the effects such time-limiting of contributory ESA will have on their services.

Chris Grayling: The impacts of time-limiting contributory employment and support allowance to one year for those in the Work Related Activity Group were set out in the impact assessment, available at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia-revised-apr2011.pdf
	The impacts on benefits advice services and other support organisations have not been quantified due to the uncertainty around take-up of these services by those affected. However, the Department has a programme of regular engagement with stakeholders such as Citizens Advice in order to help ensure that claimants receive the appropriate advice about how the changes may affect them and take any necessary action as a result.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assumptions he made about the rate of reassessment for employment and support allowance of people in receipt of incapacity benefit when calculating indicative volumes for the Work programme.

Chris Grayling: Our calculation of indicative volumes for the invitation to tender was based on the following assumptions:
	around 1.5 million existing incapacity benefits customers would go through reassessment by 2014;
	of these, approximately one-quarter would be expected to be assessed fit for work and move off incapacity benefits; and
	the remaining three-quarters would be expected to be assessed as having a limited capability for work and move onto employment and support allowance—of these, around three-quarters would be expected to move into the Work Related Activity Group.
	The actual volumes of customers referred to the Work programme will be published as Official Statistics, from spring 2012.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applicants for employment and support allowance his Department has decided should (a) receive the allowance in the (i) support group and (ii) work related activity group and (b) not receive the allowance following work capability assessments by Atos Origins which recommended that applicants (A) should and (B) should not receive the allowance.

Chris Grayling: The Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment. The latest report was published in October 2011 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php? page=esa_wca
	Table 2 in the above publication shows statistics on completed initial assessments for ESA claims from October 2008 up to May 2011 (the latest data available). This shows that there were:
	101,000 ESA Support Group decisions
	253,000 ESA Work Related Activity Group decisions
	575,400 Fit for Work decisions.
	Of the 575,400 Fit for Work decisions, 564,800 received a Fit for Work recommendation from Atos and 600 received either a Support Group or Work Related Activity Group recommendation. There were also 10,000 clerical assessments where the Atos recommendation cannot be determined but the claimant subsequently received a Fit for Work decision from DWP.
	In total there were 597,100 Atos recommendations of Fit for Work, however 32,400 of these recommendations were overturned and placed in either the Work Related Activity Group or the Support Group by DWP.
	Note that all figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and as a result may not sum to totals.

Employment Schemes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to provide targeted support for employment in areas where the (a) rate of long-term unemployment increases above and (b) job density ratio falls below a specific threshold; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Department remains committed to tackling long-term unemployment wherever it is located, through its ambitious welfare reforms. The Work Programme has replaced much of the complex range of employment support previously on offer and allows private, public and voluntary partners to come together to find innovative and flexible local solutions to help people into work. Universal credit will ensure the welfare system always incentivises work and ensure that work always pays.
	The Department is also modernising the way Jobcentre Plus delivers its services. A flexible delivery model enables Jobcentre Plus to deliver labour-market solutions tailored to the needs of the local labour market. The Government are seeking the active engagement of employers, partners and claimants themselves in every community in Britain to help tackle rising unemployment. These measures ensure that targeted support is already being delivered by knowledgeable staff, who understand local issues, at the 740 Jobcentres at the heart of communities.

Employment Schemes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to ensure funds from the Youth Contract programme flow proportionally to areas with high incidences of long-term unemployment and economic inactivity.

Chris Grayling: We are currently working to design the details of the support available through the Youth Contract and will be making further information available over the coming weeks.
	However, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that elements of Youth Contract support are targeted at young people who are longer-term unemployed so that more money will flow to areas where longer-term unemployment is higher. Specifically:
	increased adviser time will be available from month three of a JSA claim for 18 to 24-year-olds who have not yet entered the Work programme, with weekly signing from month three.
	Work experience placements are available to 18 to 24-year-olds claiming JSA from week 13 of their claim,
	The wage incentive scheme will be delivered through the Work programme. This will ensure that it is targeted at long-term unemployed young people and those who face the most significant disadvantages.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the right to data in the Open Services White Paper will apply to the Work Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Department is committed to open government and open data and is exploring the scope for new open data measures.
	The Department currently expects to publish official statistics on referrals to the Work Programme from spring 2012 and job outcome figures from autumn 2012. We expect to make these publicly available by various breakdowns including age; gender; ethnicity; disability; provider; local authority; parliamentary constituency; and contract package area. However, this is dependant on the availability and quality of data from the administrative systems.
	The exact details of what Work Programme official statistics we will publish will be available once we have developed more detailed requirements and are confident that the data are of sufficient quality to publish.
	An information note detailing the Work Programme official statistics release strategy can be found at the following website:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php? page=statistical_summaries
	Included in the note is an invitation for feedback on the type of statistics users would like to see made available for the Work Programme.
	As soon as we are confident we have reliable data we will pre-announce an exact release date via this website and on the UK Statistics Authority publication hub. Statistics will be published in the DWP quarterly statistical summary and via an internet based tabulation tool offering users bespoke breakdowns of the headline statistics.

Employment Schemes

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2011, Official Report, column 375W, on employment schemes, whether he has received any representations claiming that Work programme prime contractors are referring clients to volunteer centres without making payments to those centres; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: It has been brought to my attention that one or more Work programme prime contractors may have made inappropriate approaches to volunteer centres. We have made it clear to Work programme providers that, while we encourage them to forge productive relationships with local partners, they should not approach volunteer centres to supply unpaid support for their service delivery models.

Employment Schemes: Personal Records

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what personal information is passed from Jobcentre Plus to a provider when a jobseeker is referred to the Work Programme.

Chris Grayling: Personal information passed from Jobcentre Plus to a provider when a jobseeker is referred to the Work programme will vary depending on individual circumstances but will include some or all of the following:
	Full name including title
	National insurance number
	Full address including post code
	Telephone number including std code
	Other telephone number (mobile)
	Qualifications
	Driving licence
	Job preferences
	Employment history
	Preferred hours
	Disability status—notification that the participant has informed Jobcentre Plus that they are disabled
	Child care needs/arrangements.

Employment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether voluntary and community sector organisations will be eligible to receive wage subsidies under the Youth Contract.

Chris Grayling: Sustainable paid jobs in the voluntary sector will be eligible for the wage incentive scheme. The scheme will be delivered through the Work programme and we will be talking to employers, providers and other key stakeholders, including the voluntary and the community sector, as we develop the detailed design.

Future Jobs Fund

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were placed in employment through the future jobs fund in each parliamentary constituency since October 2009.

Chris Grayling: There have been 105,230 job placements under the future jobs fund for the period October 2009 to March 2011.
	A table containing the number of job starts for each parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of income received by households affected by the household benefit cap is accounted for by (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit.

Chris Grayling: Our modelling estimates that out of the households affected by the household benefit cap, the mean proportion of income accounted for by housing benefit is between 20% and 30%.
	The mean proportion of household income accounted for by council tax benefit is very small, the modelling estimates that it is less than 5%.
	Analysis of those affected by the benefit cap has been modelled using survey data; as such there is a degree of uncertainty around the results.

Housing Benefit

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology will be used to calculate future discretionary housing payment allocations in relation to the Government's planned increase.

Steve Webb: The Government’s contribution towards discretionary housing payments for 2012-13 will be £60 million.
	The methodology for 2012-13 constitutes two parts; £20 million has been allocated based on the midpoint between Government contribution and the actual amount spent by a local authority in 2010-11; the £40 million balance has been allocated to each local authority based on their share of the anticipated losses by housing benefit claimants as a result of the reforms to the local housing allowance.
	Details of this allocation could be found in HB/CTB S10/2011 (revised)
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/s10-2011.pdf
	which we sent to all local authorities to advise them of the 2012-13 discretionary housing payments allocations.
	The methodology for allocating the Government’s contribution towards discretionary housing payments in 2013-14 will be decided by discussions with local authorities representatives and the Department during the summer/autumn of 2012.

Housing Benefit

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 25 to 34 year olds he expects to be affected by the introduction of the single room rate in each local authority area.

Steve Webb: The requested information has been published in the equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold.
	A copy has been placed in the Library and it is available on the DWP website at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf

Housing Benefit: Brent

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claim the shared accommodation rate of housing benefit in Brent North constituency; and what estimate he has made of the likely change in this number should the age limit increase from 25 to 35 years.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	Estimates of the number of people claiming the local housing allowance at the shared accommodation rate and the numbers affected by the increase in the age limit have been published at local authority level as part of the equality impact assessment, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	The equality impact assessment is also available on the internet at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf
	In the London borough of Brent, it is estimated that at March 2010 1,670 people received local housing allowance at the shared accommodation rate and that 710 would be affected by the age limit increase.

Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the proposed abolition of direct payment of local housing allowance to private landlords.

Steve Webb: At present, housing benefit under the local housing allowance (LHA) arrangements is paid to claimants in the majority of cases. For some claimants who are likely to run into financial difficulties, payment is made to the landlord. The Government do not plan to abolish this provision. Work is ongoing to define the details of support under universal credit, but the approach for private sector renters will build on the existing local housing allowance arrangements.

Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with private landlords on the proposed abolition of direct payment of local housing allowance.

Steve Webb: Departmental officials have a regular dialogue with landlord groups.
	At present, housing benefit under the local housing allowance (LHA) arrangements is paid to claimants in the majority of cases. For some claimants who are likely to run into financial difficulties, payment is made to the landlord. The Government do not plan to abolish this provision.

Housing Benefit: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households claiming (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance in (i) Wales and (ii) each local authority in Wales have non-dependent residents living in the household.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not currently available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does collect information on numbers of non-dependents from the housing benefit/council tax benefit data source (single housing benefit extract) but to assess the completeness of recording and quality assure the figures to answer this question would incur disproportionate cost.
	Notes
	1. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed housing benefit/council tax benefit data electronically from local authorities. Over time these will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics, as the information supplied is quality assured.
	2. Housing benefit caseload and average weekly amounts are available at local authority area level and these are published on the Department's website at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb

Housing Benefit: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged between 25 and 35 in each local authority area in Wales in receipt of housing benefit and not currently in receipt of the shared room rate will be affected by the change of the eligibility age for shared room rate.

Steve Webb: The requested information has been published in the equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold.
	A copy has been placed in the library and it is available on the DWP website at:
	http://www.dwp.Gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf

Housing Benefit: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in receipt of housing benefit or local housing allowance in Wales contain (a) one, (b) two or (c) three or more non-dependent residents earning more than £200 a week.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not currently available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does collect information on numbers of non-dependents from the housing benefit/council tax benefit data source (the single housing benefit extract) but to assess the completeness of recording and quality assure the figures to answer this question would incur disproportionate cost.
	Notes
	1. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed housing benefit/council tax benefit data electronically from local authorities. Over time these will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics, as the information supplied is quality assured.
	2. Housing benefit caseload and average weekly amounts are available at local authority area level and these are published on the Department's website at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb

Housing Benefit: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of housing benefit or local housing allowance also claim out-of-work benefits in (a) Wales and (b) each local authority area in Wales.

Steve Webb: The Family Resource Survey estimates that there are 100,000 benefit units in Wales, in receipt of both housing benefit and out-of-work benefits.
	Estimates are based on survey data, and only allow for breakdowns to Government office region level, so information at local authority level is not available.
	Notes
	1. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of UK households. Data for 2009-10 were collected between April 2009 and March 2010.
	2. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region population by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	3. Results have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 benefit units.
	4. The Family Resource Survey captures information on housing benefit and local housing allowance, but does not explicitly differentiate between the two.
	5. Out-of-work benefits cases have been defined as benefit units with at least one adult in receipt of one or more of the following benefits: income support, job-seeker's allowance, employment and support allowance or incapacity benefit.
	6. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt and so estimates should be treated with caution.
	7. A benefit unit is defined as a single adult or a married or cohabiting couple and any dependent children; from January 2006 same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) are included in the same benefit unit.
	8. A dependent child is defined as an individual aged under 16. A person will also be defined as a child if they are 16 to 19 years old and they are:
	Not married nor in a civil partnership nor living with a partner; and
	living with parents; and
	In full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged Government training.
	Source
	The Family Resources Survey 2009-10

Income Support: Mortgages

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants receiving income-related benefit were receiving support for mortgage interest in each month of the last five years in each Jobcentre Plus budget area.

Chris Grayling: The total numbers of claimants of pension credit (PC), income support (IS) and jobseeker's allowance (JSA) receiving mortgage interest by region, from May 2007 to May 2011, are available in the Library.

Pensioners: Income

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners had a net annual income of (a) up to £5,200, (b) £5,201 to £10,400, (c) £10,401 to £20,800, (d) £20,801 to £40,000, (e) £40,001 to £80,000 and (f) over £80,000 in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK in the latest year for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The following table shows the percentage of pensioner units with net income in each band. Figures for Scotland are estimated by combining three years' data from 2007-08 to 2009-10. Figures for the UK are based on 2009-10 data. Reliable estimates of the percentage of pensioners receiving between £40,000 and £80,000 per year and over £80,000 per year are not possible with the data source, so the two groups have been combined.
	
		
			 Pensioner units with annual net income in each band 
			 Percentage 
			  Up to £5,200 £5,200 to £10,400 £10,400 to £20,800 £20,800 to £40,000 Over £40,000 
			 Scotland 3 27 48 19 4 
			 UK 3 22 47 22 6 
			 Notes: 1. Net income before housing costs is gross income less income tax payments, national insurance contributions, contributions to occupational and private pension schemes, local taxes, maintenance and child support payments, and parental contributions to children living away from home. 2. Based on survey data and as such subject to a degree of sampling and non sampling error. 3. All figures are rounded to the nearest 1%. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding. 4. Due to the small sample sizes involved in estimates below a national level, three years' data have been combined and the income band has been deflated to the appropriate year's prices. 5. A pensioner unit is either a single person over pension age or a couple in which at least one person is over pension age. Source: Family Resources Survey.

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to ensure that people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other long-term degenerative conditions are not required to take part in a face-to-face assessment for personal independence payment where sufficient evidence is available to qualify them for the benefit without the need for an assessment that is face-to-face.

Maria Miller: The assessment for personal independence payment will be carried out by a trained, independent health professional. It will involve consideration of written evidence from the claimant and from relevant people involved in supporting them—such as their GP, hospital consultant or social worker. In most cases, we also expect the claim process to involve a face-to-face consultation between the claimant and the health professional, providing an opportunity to explore in detail the impact of their impairment on their everyday life.
	While we believe that face-to-face consultations will be an important part of the process, we have made very clear that we intend to deliver this policy in a sensitive and proportionate way. For example, where we already have enough written evidence on which to make an accurate assessment, it would be inappropriate—and a waste of public money—to require individuals to attend a consultation. Individuals with long-term degenerative conditions are particularly likely to have such evidence available to support their claim.
	We do believe that decisions on whether a consultation is appropriate should be made on a case-by-case basis—not based simply on the claimant's impairment type. This reflects the more personalised approach inherent to the new benefit. The only exception to this is for people claiming under the terminal illness provisions, who will not be required to attend a face-to-face consultation as part of their claim.
	We are still developing the claims and assessment processes for personal independence payment and we will continue to work with disabled people and their organisations as we do so.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses postcodes in a variety of ways: for work allocation; contacting customers; research; matching records; and providing specific local payments. Specific examples include:
	the administration of the Cold Weather Payment Scheme;
	to draw samples for inclusion in research studies and to contact people regarding involvement in research initiatives;
	to allocate work from specific areas to the right Pensions Processing Centre;
	to automatically route state pension and pension credit telephone enquiries from the national number, to the appropriate pension centre;
	Direct mailing initiatives, for example regarding benefit take-up;
	identifying areas where there are high volumes of vulnerable customers such as customers with disabilities, vulnerable pensioner groups etc.;
	to investigate benefit and tax credit claims in a specific high fraud risk area, in order to uncover fraudulent claims.

Social Security Benefits: Durham

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who will cease to receive (a) incapacity benefit and (b) all benefits in North West Durham constituency as a consequence of his proposed changes to the benefits system.

Chris Grayling: No such estimate has been made.
	The impacts of the proposed changes to the benefit system as set out in the Welfare Reform Bill are available in the associated impact assessments at the following link.
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare%2Dreform/legislation %2Dand%2Dkey%2Ddocuments/welfare%2Dreform%2D bill%2D2011/impact%2Dassessments%2Dand%2Dequality/
	The impacts of these proposals have been calculated at an aggregate, Great Britain, level and cannot be reliably broken down for smaller geographical areas.
	The main forthcoming change to incapacity benefits is the proposal to time limit contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) to one year for those in the Work Related Activity Group. This is expected to affect around 700,000 people by 2015-16, of which around 60% are expected to be fully or partially compensated by income-related ESA, so will retain entitlement to ESA.
	The remaining 40% are not expected to qualify for income-related ESA because they have other income, including that from a partner. These people will no longer receive ESA benefit payments, but will be able to retain national insurance credits by becoming an ESA credits-only claimant. They may also see increases in other benefits such as tax credits and housing benefit.

Social Security Benefits: Expenditure

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total expenditure was on welfare benefits excluding pensions, in each parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The available information for 2010-11 has been placed in the Library.
	Benefit expenditure by parliamentary constituency is available only for the following benefits:
	attendance allowance;
	bereavement benefits;
	carer's allowance;
	disability living allowance;
	incapacity benefit;
	severe disablement allowance;
	income support;
	jobseeker's allowance;
	pension credit;
	state pension;
	winter fuel payments; and
	employment and support allowance.
	Benefit expenditure by parliamentary constituency can be found using the following URL:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/PC_expenditure.xls

Social Security Benefits: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of families in Peterborough constituency who will be affected by the proposed benefit cap from April 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: We published an impact assessment for the introduction of the benefit cap on 16 February 2011. It can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/household-benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
	It estimates that, if the benefit cap were applied in full, around 50,000 households in Great Britain would have their benefits reduced by the policy. Sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for areas smaller than the overall impacts for Great Britain.

Unemployment: Ex-servicemen

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of former armed forces personnel who are (a) unemployed and (b) long-term unemployed;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average length of time it takes an individual to find work after leaving the armed forces.

Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely record whether benefit claimants are former armed forces personnel. We are looking into ways of improving knowledge on the employment and benefit outcomes of ex-service personnel.

Universal Credit

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on its proposals on the universal credit to date.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has spent £41.2 million to date on the proposed delivery of universal credit; (£3.4 million in 2010-11 and £37.8 million in 2011-12 to the end of October).

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with local authorities on delivery of the universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: We are engaged with local authority staff at all levels. Local authorities are a key partner and we need to utilise their expertise, skills and success in order to design a modern welfare system that makes the most of the best of national and local services and delivers them from the most appropriate place.
	There is a local authority chief executive represented on the Universal Credit Programme Board; the Local Government Association (LGA), Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) are represented on the Universal Credit Senior Stakeholder Board, Universal Credit Transition Working Group, the Finance and Commercial Working Group and the Local Authority Associations Steering Group. We also have seconded staff to key positions from many local authorities.
	We have also commenced a programme of visits to give individual local authorities an opportunity to feed directly into the UC programme as well as UC programme staff an opportunity to see the reality on the ground for local authorities.
	Additionally, the Minister with responsibility for welfare reform, Lord Freud, has met with representatives from both the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, and the Local Government Association at which universal credit was discussed. Ministers will continue to engage with these local authority groups in the lead up to universal credit delivery.

Winter Fuel Payments

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider increasing the level of winter fuel payments over the next four years for pensioners over the age of 80.

Steve Webb: Decisions on the rate of winter fuel payments for future winters are generally made as part of the annual Budget cycle.

Winter Fuel Payments: Newport East

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in winter fuel payments to residents of Newport East constituency in 2010-11; and how much he expects to be paid to such recipients in 2011-12.

Steve Webb: The amount of winter fuel payments made to residents of Newport East constituency in 2010-11 was £3.3 million.
	The number of people receiving winter fuel payments is expected to reduce slightly each winter due to the rise in the qualifying age linked to women's state pension age. However we expect the numbers to be broadly similar in winter 2011-12.
	If the Newport East share of the total Great Britain expenditure in 2010-11 was maintained in 2011-12, the projected expenditure would be approximately £2.6 million.
	Further published benefit expenditure tables can be found at the following address:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
	Source:
	DWP statistical and Accounting Data.

Work Capability Assessment

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential effects of work capability assessment decisions on the level of unemployment since May 2010.

Chris Grayling: It is not possible to estimate the effects of the work capability assessment decisions on the level of unemployment.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2011, Official Report, columns 569-70W, on work capability assessment, how many reassessments of incapacity benefit claimants have resulted in a recommendation to his Department that the claimant (a) should not receive employment and support allowance (ESA) or (b) should receive ESA in the (i) support group or (ii) work related activity group; and in how many such reassessments his Department's decision was different to the original Atos decision.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available. Information on the number of work capability assessments (WCAs) completed can be provided using the Department's management information system, but to know the outcomes of the WCAs and the variation from the Atos recommendation requires individual level data.
	Due to the overall length of the incapacity benefits reassessment process, information on the entire process including the final outcomes and subsequent destinations of claimants being reassessed is not yet available. Individual level data are being collected, but it will take time to complete because of the overall length of the reassessment process. The Department plans to publish data on the outcomes of the reassessment process, but only once they have been quality assured and are considered robust.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Nicholas Clegg: The information is not held in the format requested.
	Of the 20 questions tabled to me for answer on a named day between 1 June and 30 November 2011, 19 were answered substantively on the specified date.

Duchy of Cornwall

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Duchy of Cornwall is an Office of State.

Mark Harper: The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate that funds the public, charitable and private activities of the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

EDUCATION

Academies: Private Finance Initiative

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what reports he has received of planned academy schools not going ahead due to difficulties with private finance initiative arrangements; which schools have been affected; when he expects to resolve this issue; and when he expects the planned academies to go ahead.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 18 October 2011
	A number of banks which finance PFI contracts have raised concerns as to whether local authorities have the legal power to make payments in relation to PFI academies. They are withholding their consent to PFI schools becoming academies until these concerns are resolved beyond doubt.
	At the same time, a number of banks have been happy to proceed and a number of schools with PFI contracts have successfully converted to become academies. 16 schools have been affected while 24 have converted to become academies.
	Local authorities do currently have the power to make these contractual payments on academies' behalf. However, we recognised the demand for this to be clarified more explicitly, which is why we have now amended the Academies Act 2010 accordingly. We hope and expect that the affected schools will now be able to proceed with their applications to convert to academy status.

Academies: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the effect of academies on educational (a) equalities and (b) attainment in Redditch.

Nick Gibb: We believe that teachers and head teachers know best how to run schools. Academies give them the freedoms and flexibilities to help drive up standards, narrow the gap in educational attainment and ensure that all pupils are equally able to fulfil their potential.
	There are no results available for the one academy in Redditch, Trinity High School, as the school converted to academy status in August 2011.

Bus Services: Concessions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the need to provide concessionary bus fares for 16 to 18-year-olds following the raising of the participation age.

Nick Gibb: Under our proposals to raise the participation age, 16 to 18-year-olds will have a duty to participate, but not necessarily in full-time education. Young people aged 16 to 18 will still be able to leave school and will have a range of options they can take and many young people will also undertake part-time work while they are studying.
	Transport represents one of the main costs associated with participation post-16. That is why the £180 million 16-19 Bursary Fund introduced from September 2011, will have the flexibility to help meet transport costs for individual students.
	This sits alongside the duty on local authorities to publish a statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people of sixth form age to attend post-16 education.

Child Protection

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the publication by the National Deaf Children's Society entitled Social care for deaf children and young people: a guide to assessment and child protection investigations for social care practitioners; and whether his Department has any plans to (a) promote and (b) disseminate the guide and associated audit tool.

Tim Loughton: The guide was considered by the Munro Review and highlighted as an example of good practice in meeting particular needs. It is for the National Deaf Children's Society and not Government to promote and disseminate the guide and associated audit tool further.

Child Protection

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he last had contact with the Local Safeguarding Children Board in Birmingham on arrangements for deaf children; and if he will review the existing arrangements.

Tim Loughton: Ministers have not had contact with the Local Safeguarding Children Board in Birmingham on this issue recently. The Local Safeguarding Children Board, rather than Government, is best placed to decide priorities in that locality.

Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government's buying standards for food and catering.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education's and its public bodies' caterers must comply with Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering. The Department ensures through its contract management process that updates are received quarterly with regard to the compliance with the standards.

Education: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has provided to (a) (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools and (b) sixth forms and colleges in Romford constituency in 2010-11.

Nick Gibb: Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Romford as data are collected at a local authority level. The Department funds local authorities for their pupils and not individual maintained schools. The total funding provided by the Department for Education in the London borough of Havering in 2010-11 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Dedicated Schools Grant, other schools grant and academy funding 185,066,875 
			 Schools sixth forms and colleges 37,358,053

Employment: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make an assessment of (a) the teaching of basic skills in schools in improving the employability of school leavers and (b) the findings of the British Chambers of Commerce's Skills Report on the confidence of businesses in recruiting school-leavers with A-levels.

Nick Gibb: The Government are committed to improving the employability of school leavers. In her report on vocational education, Professor Wolf found that achievement in English and maths is fundamental to future employment. We are currently implementing Professor Wolf’s recommendations to improve the vocational offer for 14 to 19-year-olds by ensuring that more young people achieve at least grade C in English and maths GCSE by the age of 19. We have also introduced the English baccalaureate to encourage young people to study English and maths and those GCSE subjects which are most likely to help them progress to further study or employment.
	The British Chambers of Commerce report points to a lack of confidence among many businesses in recruiting a school leaver with A levels. The Government are totally committed to ensuring that A levels are robust, rigorous and relevant—to match the best education systems in the world and to keep pace with businesses' and universities' demands. We are working with Ofqual on implementing our commitment, set out in “The Importance of Teaching—The Schools White Paper 2010”, to establish a stronger role for higher education (HE) and learned bodies in the design of A levels.

Free Schools

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many civil servants in his Department are employed to work on free schools policy.

Nick Gibb: As at 24 November 2011, there are around 100 civil servants in the Department’s Free School Group employed on policy and implementation work in connection with free schools, and about a further 20 involved with university technical colleges and studio schools.

Further Education: Finance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total funding is for 16 to 18 education (a) in total and (b) per capita in (i) Birmingham, (ii) Newcastle, (iii) Wakefield, (iv) Manchester, (v) Leeds, (vi) Liverpool, (vii) Coventry, (viii) Bristol, (ix) Sheffield, (x) Bradford, (xi) Leicester and (xii) Nottingham in each of the next five years.

Nick Gibb: The most recent Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) grant letter for 2011-12 sets out the total budget for the YPLA this financial year(1). The total budget for 16 to 19 education and training places in the financial year 2011-12 is over £7.5 billion. It is not possible to split out the funding for 2011-12 on a city basis because funding is predominantly allocated directly to 16 to 19 providers rather than via local authorities or regional/city bodies. The 16 to 19 funding allocations to individual providers (excluding 16 to 18 apprenticeships) are available on the YPLA website, however, at the following web address:
	http://www.ypla.gov.uk/aboutus/ourwork/funding/allocations/
	Details on the indicative funding for 16 to 19 participation in education and training beyond 2011-12 are not yet agreed.
	(1) http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/ypla/ypla-Revisions_to_the_ 2011-2012_Grant_Letter-le-sep11-v1.pdf

Higher Education: Admissions

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average UCAS points score of first year undergraduate students was in each of the last 10 years.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest information is given in the following table and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Final figures for 2011 have not yet been released.
	
		
			 Average UCAS tariff points score of UK domiciled accepted applicants 2002 to 2010 (1) 
			 Year of entry (2) Average score (3) 
			 2002 284.9 
			 2003 296.2 
			 2004 304.8 
			 2005 306.6 
			 2006 312.8 
			 2007 315.1 
			 2008 312.3 
			 2009 314.3 
			 2010 323.6 
			 (1) The UCAS Tariff was first introduced in the 2002 application cycle. (2) Includes applicants who applied in each of these years for deferred entry in the following year. (3) The Tariff has only been reported for applicants domiciled in the UK, and excludes those with a tariff score of 0, or where the tariff score is not known. The scores cover only those qualifications notified to UCAS via the Awarding Body Link (ABL). Results available through the ABL arrangements cover a variety, but often limited number, of examination sittings depending upon the qualifications and the awarding body concerned—in many instances results are restricted to the most recent summer sittings (although GCE A levels cover qualifications sat in the last 18 months and SQA for a much longer period). Those qualifications that were not part of ABL arrangements, or those where the data upon which the qualification sat fell outside of the ABL arrangements, or where qualifications for which qualifications could not be analysed e.g. BTEC, have not been reported.

School Meals: Standards

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has plans to bring forward proposals to repeal or amend the provisions of the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2006.

Sarah Teather: The School Food Regulations 2006 came into force in September 2006. The Department has no plans to repeal the regulations, as our policy is to increase the take-up of healthy school lunches. We are currently considering whether the regulations need updating, for example to keep in line with the guidelines of the Statutory Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

Schools: Admissions

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received on shortages of (a) primary school places and (b) secondary school places in Lambeth in the last 12 months.

Nick Gibb: On 10 November 2011, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), received a delegation led by local Members of Parliament and senior officers from Lambeth and Southwark borough councils to discuss primary school place issues. The Department has also received written representations from Lambeth council about the methodology used to allocate the additional £500 million basic need funding. Discussions with Lambeth council officers continue, but the allocation of funding announced on 3 November 2011 was made in an equitable manner, based on 2011 schools capacity data and 2013/14 pupil forecast numbers provided by the local authority.

Schools: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many demountable classrooms there were in Colchester constituency in (a) May 1997 and (b) May 2010.

Nick Gibb: Information is not held centrally on numbers of demountable classrooms in Colchester in 1997 and 2010.

Special Educational Needs

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to review the level of special educational needs (SEN) funding allocated to academies within the remit of local authorities that already undertake a SEN audit.

Nick Gibb: Funding for pupils with high cost special educational needs (SEN) is the responsibility of local authorities. Specific arrangements vary from local authority to local authority.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) has recently consulted on wide-ranging reforms to school and academy funding, which include proposals relating to high cost pupils. The results of this consultation and further consultation on detailed future proposals will be announced in due course.

University Technical Colleges

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made on the potential effect of university technical colleges on the development of (a) green energy and (b) other emerging markets.

Nick Gibb: The development of university technical colleges (UTCs) provides the opportunity for universities and employers to establish new schools specialising in technical education to meet economic and skills needs. These may well include green technologies and other emerging priority areas which are important to economic growth both locally and nationally.
	There are 17 UTC projects in the pre-opening phase. They have a variety of specialisms including the Bristol and South Gloucestershire UTC specialising in engineering and environment technologies, the Daventry UTC specialising in new technologies which include environmental sustainability and sustainable construction, the Nottingham UTC specialising in advanced manufacturing and low carbon technologies, and the Wigan UTC specialising in manufacturing engineering and green energy and environment technologies.
	We are committed to at least 24 UTCs before the end of the Parliament. These will help ensure that more school leavers each year have had a high quality technical education enabling them to go on to higher or further education, employment or an apprenticeship, while addressing the needs of employment and the economy.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Stephen Crouch

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what meetings (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) senior officials of his Department have had with Stephen Crouch since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: Details of all Ministers external meetings are available on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Our-organisation1/Ministers/
	and are published every quarter in the normal way.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Civil Partnerships: Ceremonies

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) of 15 September 2011, Official Report, column 1180, on civil partnership ceremonies, which organisations have registered their (a) support for and (b) opposition to legal reform to permit homosexual marriage; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: We announced on 17 September 2011 our intention to publish a formal consultation on equal civil marriage in March 2012. This would allow us to make any legislative changes before the end of this Parliament.
	From now until the publication of the consultation we will be meeting with a wide range of people with an interest in this issue, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups and religious and non-religious organisations to help shape the formal consultation document. These discussions have been held on a confidential basis and we have not asked organisations to register their support or opposition for this policy. When the consultation opens in March 2012, we will welcome comments from a wide range of organisations and individuals.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Grimsby

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the redundancy costs resulting from the closure of the Grimsby office of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS); what the financial saving to the CPS will be; and what his estimate is of the travel costs of CPS staff coming from Hull to handle cases in Grimsby as a result of the closure of the CPS Grimsby office.

Dominic Grieve: No staff were made redundant following the closure of the Grimsby office of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). However, local managers took the decision to give preference, under the voluntary exit scheme, to those based in Grimsby who did not wish to move to the Hull office. The principal financial saving will be approximately £150,000 in rent and associated building costs. This figure will be offset by travel assistance given to relocated staff for the first three years. There is no extra cost in staff travelling to Grimsby from Hull, as managers have agreed to deploy those staff living near the court who will travel there from home.

Crown Prosecution Service: Grimsby

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff of Grimsby Crown Prosecution Service Unit have (a) transferred to Hull Crown Prosecution Service and (b) taken redundancy under the voluntary exit scheme following the closure of the Grimsby unit.

Dominic Grieve: Of the staff previously based at the Grimsby office, 22 are now based at Hull. One works from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) office based at Lincoln at his own request. Three are working from offices within the courts at Grimsby and 15 took advantage of the voluntary exit scheme.

Crown Prosecution Service: Grimsby

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Attorney-General what consultations his Department had with (a) police in South Humberside, (b) North East Lincolnshire Council, (c) hon. Members representing constituencies near Grimsby and (d) Grimsby and District Law Society before the decision was made to close the Grimsby Office of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Dominic Grieve: The decision to close the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) office at Grimsby was taken after it became apparent that the primary lease holders were leaving, and it would not be possible to stay in that building. The CPS consulted with the police and the courts as key partners.
	On the basis that the decision to close the Grimsby office was an operational matter for the Service, wider consultation was not considered.

Crown Prosecution Service: ICT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what funding the Crown Prosecution Service has allocated to the introduction of tablet devices as part of its Transforming Through Technology programme.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is conducting commercial discussions with a view to introducing tablet devices as part of its Transforming Through Technology (T3) programme. No funding has yet been allocated while the commercial discussions continue.

Crown Prosecution Service: ICT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether the tablet devices being introduced by the Crown Prosecution Service as part of its Transforming Through Technology programme have been subject to a health and safety assessment.

Dominic Grieve: The tablet devices that are being introduced as part of the Transformation Through Technology (T3) programme are covered by the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. Those CPS staff who use the new devices will be advised to undertake a display screen equipment self-assessment. These assessments should cover the use of the tablet device in all locations and with all software applications. Following the assessments, should staff require adaptations or additional equipment this will be provided on an individual basis.
	In addition to the display screen equipment self-assessments, local health and safety managers will be updating workplace risk assessments which will include the use of tablet devices in CPS offices, court rooms, and other sites as necessary. Local health and safety managers will also be updating manual handling risk assessments which will include the movement of tablet devices and any peripheral equipment by CPS staff.

Crown Prosecution Service: ICT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the weight is of the tablet devices being introduced by the Crown Prosecution Service as part of its Transforming Through Technology programme; and whether lecterns will be required in courtrooms to enable their use.

Dominic Grieve: The tablet-style device weighs 1.8 kg.
	As part of the deployment of the tablet-style devices, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will not routinely be equipping courtrooms with lecterns. The Department has sourced various styles of lectern for use with tablet devices if they should be needed. These will be trialled as part of the tablet deployment programme.

Crown Prosecution Service: ICT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Crown Prosecution Service's planned budgetary savings from (a) voluntary staff redundancies and (b) the Transforming Through Technology programme.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) estimates that voluntary staff redundancies will account for 15% of the planned budgetary savings in the current spending review period.
	The CPS estimates that the Transforming Through Technology programme will account for 13.5% of the planned budgetary savings in the current spending review period.

Departmental ICT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment his Department has made of how long the tablet devices being introduced as part of the Transforming Through Technology programme will be in service.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is currently introducing the use of tablet devices as part of its prosecution of cases. The tablet devices currently being used in trials will be used until at least 2015. The length of time that a particular device may stay in service will be examined as part of the trials that are being conducted in December 2011 and January 2012 prior to wider roll-out in February and March 2012.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the retail and drinks industry on the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol.

Anne Milton: The Home Office has lead responsibility within Government for alcohol pricing issues. In the last three months, the Department of Health’s alcohol policy team has received two representations from the retail and drinks industry on the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol.
	A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has not identified any correspondence received since 1 September 2011 from the retail and drinks industry about the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol.

Antibiotics

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of viable new antibiotics in development or testing; and what recent assessment he has made of the development pipeline for antibiotics.

Simon Burns: Currently there are two new agents in development with the potential to act against the difficult to treat multi-resistant Gram negative bacteria(1).
	We are actively encouraging further drug development and pressing for greater research collaboration at an international level as recommended in the new European strategic action plan(2).
	(1 )European Medicines Agency/European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: Joint technical report: the bacterial challenge—time to act.
	www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Report/2009/11/WC500008770.pdf
	(2 )Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance (COM (2011) 748).

Cancer: Drugs

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each primary care trust area have received NHS medication through the Cancer Drugs Fund since its creation.

Simon Burns: Information at primary care trust level is not collected centrally.
	The Cancer Drugs Fund was launched on 1 April 2011 to help thousands of cancer patients access the drugs their clinicians believe will help them. We made an additional £50 million available to strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2010-11 to support improved access to cancer drugs.
	Since 1 October 2010, this funding has helped over 7,500 cancer patients in England to access the cancer drugs their clinicians recommended.
	Information on the number of patients who received treatment in each SHA under the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from October 2010 to March 2011) and under the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2011-12 (to September 2011) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of patients (1) 
			 SHA 2010-11 (October to March) 2011-12 (April to September) 
			 North East 420 340 
			 North West 266 501 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 178 374 
			 East Midlands 178 448 
			 West Midlands 292 771 
		
	
	
		
			 East of England 246 360 
			 London 443 553 
			 South East Coast 306 498 
			 South Central 290 360 
			 South West 161 611 
			 Total 2,780 4,816 
			 (1) Some individual patients may be double counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment. Source: Information supplied to the Department of Health by SHAs

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) monetary value and (b) net worth was of each such contract.

Simon Burns: The Department has awarded 194 contracts to Capita and its related organisations since May 2010.
	The following table shows the number of contracts and monetary value.
	
		
			 Supplier name Number of purchase orders Purchase order value (£) 
			 Capita Business Services Ltd 11 428,578.08 
			 Capita Health Solutions Colchester 13 3,571.96 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd 122 2,519,192.86 
			 Capita Secure Information Systems Ltd 1 2,500.00 
			 Capita SHG Resourcing 13 790,916.60 
			 Capita Symonds Ltd 34 317,554.37 
			 Grand total 194 4,062,313.87 
			 Note: A Purchase order represents an individual contract with Capita.

Children: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding in total (a) was paid in 2010-11 and (b) will be paid in 2011-12 to (i) the Family Planning Association, (ii) After Adoption Yorkshire, (iii) the National Children's Bureau, (iv) UK Youth, (v) Youthnet, (vi) the Children's Society and (vii) the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department can confirm that funding was allocated to the named organisations as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Recipient organisations 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Family Planning Association 1,685,375 1,721,200 
			 After Adoption Yorkshire 150,000 36,427 
			 National Children's Bureau 459,950 469,611 
			 UK Youth 103,410 71,130 
			 Children's Society 239,995 215,000 
			 Youthnet 364,049 169,965 
			 NSPCC 0 53,918 
			 Total 3,002,779 2,737,251 
		
	
	It should be noted that funding for 2011-12 represents the latest allocations and additional funding could be allocated in the remaining months of the financial year.

Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the most recent meeting took place of the executive of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence; and what matters were discussed at that meeting.

Anne Milton: The most recent meeting of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence was on 15 November 2011.
	Discussions at that meeting covered performance, financial, legislative and strategic matters.
	Minutes of the meeting are not yet published. Minutes of previous meetings are available on the council’s website at:
	www.chre.org.uk/council/59/

Death Certificates

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what impact assessment his Department has undertaken of the proposed transfer of responsibility for the certification of deaths from primary care trusts to upper tier local authorities;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to evaluate pilots of proposed responsibilities for certification of deaths before proceeding with the transfer of such responsibilities to upper tier local authorities;
	(3)  what public consultation he is undertaking on the proposed transfer of responsibility for certifying deaths.

Anne Milton: The transfer of responsibilities from primary care trusts to local authorities for appointing medical examiners and related activities for death certification was agreed with the Department for Communities and Local Government alongside the transfer of wider responsibilities for public health. Local authorities already manage the coroners and registration services, both of which will require collaborative working with the new medical examiner services.
	The Department of Health is working with local government organisations to ensure that the new service is sustainably resourced. There will be full consultation on the new arrangements in spring 2012.

Dementia: Research

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research on the (a) causes and (b) treatment of dementia since 2010.

Paul Burstow: Dementia is a research priority for the Government. Through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Policy Research Programme, the Department funds a wide range of research on dementia including research on causes, diagnosis, treatment, and organisation and delivery of health and social care services. The Department’s expenditure on dementia research increased from £12.7 million in 2009-10 to £18.6 million in 2010-11. Expenditure specifically on causes and treatment cannot be disaggregated from these figures.
	The NIHR has issued a themed call on dementia. This call extends across the translational pathway, covering the fields of cause, cure and care, including prevention. In addition, four new NIHR biomedical research units in dementia will receive a total of £18 million over five years from April 2012.

Advisory Services

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution his Department has made to the cross-Government review of advice funding announced in July 2011.

Paul Burstow: The Government announced on 21 November 2011 that the Cabinet Office would be conducting a review of the free advice service sector to ensure that people continue to have access to good quality free advice services in their communities.
	Work has now started on the review which will conclude early next year with recommendations to Ministers.
	The review will build on work that has already been done across Government on funding issues facing the not-for-profit advice sector.
	The review is considering the funding environment for free advice services, likely levels of demand, and how Government can play a positive role.
	The review will be led by Cabinet Office who will be involving other Departments with an interest in free advice services. The Department of Health is keen to ensure that people continue to have access to good quality free advice in their communities and will therefore play an active role in the review.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: An organogram for the Department's communications staff is available at:
	http://data.gov.uk/organogram/department-of-health
	Current figures were collated in March 2011. Updated figures from September 2011 will be published imminently.
	Staffing figures for the Department's agency and non-departmental public bodies are included in the following table:
	
		
			 Communications Figures (whole time equivalent) as at: (a) Press officers (b) Internal communications officers (c) External communications officers (d) Communications strategy officers 
			 Alcohol Education and Research Council 30 September 2011 0 0 0 0 
			 Appointments Commission 30 September 2011 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Care Quality Commission 30 September 2011 8 3 16.5 0 
			 Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence 30 September 2011 (2)— (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 General Social Care Council 30 September 2011 1 0.5 2.5 2 
			 Health Protection Agency 30 September 2011 (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 31 January 2011 1 0 3 1 
			 Human Tissue Authority(4) (HTA) 30 September 2011 1 1 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Monitor 29 November 2011 2 1.5 3.5 1 
			 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency(5) 29 November 2011 3 1 0 1 
			 (1) Appointments Commission has one post holder who undertakes all Communications activity and it is not possible to determine the split between the roles (a) to (d) (2 )Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence has one post holder who undertakes all Communications activity and it is not possible to determine the split between the roles (a) to (d) (3) Health Protection Agency has a total of 29 staff who work across all these disciplines. (Of these, 19 staff are locally embedded across the country; six are sited at Colindale; two at Chilton; one at Porton; and one at head office). (4) The HTA has a communications team of four people who are generalists. (5) Denotes executive agency.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases;
	(2)  what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

Simon Burns: The Department dealt with 137 potential or actual judicial review claims brought against it in the last five years. The additional information requested such as which of these organisations has received any funding from the Department and the success of these actions is not held on a central record. To provide this information would involve examining open files and recalling closed files from storage. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department’s policy on recovery of legal costs follows that of the Treasury Solicitor’s Department. The Department will always seek an order for costs when successful in litigation, provided that it is both legally possible and appropriate in the circumstances. However, as many litigants are legally aided, an order is not pursued unless there is a change in financial circumstances.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party.

Simon Burns: Since May 2010, the Department has held 25 receptions and events have been held; 19 in Skipton house and six in Richmond house, including Remembrance Sunday in both 2010 and 2011. Four have been sponsored by third parties.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Simon Burns: No civil servants in the Department, employed either on permanent or fixed-term contracts are paid by means of payments to limited companies. Similarly, no senior staff of the Department's Executive agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or its other non-departmental public bodies are paid in this manner.
	It is not the Department's policy to permit payments to civil servants by way of limited companies.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The Department's central procurement database does hold information on expenditure with external suppliers. However, it does not have a category for outsourced services. To obtain this information we would need to contact each business area and directorate in the Department requiring them to check their records to obtain information about the services that were previously performed internally, but then have been outsourced. This undertaking would amount to a substantial effort across the Department and could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.

Regulations

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations his Department introduced in each financial year between 1997-98 and 2009-10; and what the estimated cost of implementation was in each case.

Simon Burns: The analysis of central records required in order to provide the information requested could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.

Health Services: Males

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure cardiovascular disease in men is diagnosed as early as possible;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that type 2 diabetes in men is diagnosed as early as possible.

Simon Burns: The NHS Health Check programme is a national public health programme for people in England aged 40-74. The purpose of the programme is to identify an individual's risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes, and for that risk to be managed through appropriate follow up.
	The programme is aimed at tackling inequalities, including inequalities in gender. Primary care trusts are, therefore, commissioning programmes which aim to reach those who are not in touch with formal healthcare, including programmes to increase the take up of the NHS Health Check among men.
	In addition, there are a number of strands of work to ensure cardiovascular disease and diabetes are recognised and treated early in all patients, including:
	Raising awareness of the symptoms of stroke through the Act FAST campaign so that people get to hospital quicker and receive life saving treatment.
	Use of statins (cholesterol lowering drugs). Around 6-8 million people are receiving statins, saving an estimated 10,000 lives every year. These are now also available over the counter rather than solely by prescription enabling more people to benefit.
	Tackling atrial fibrillation (AF). NHS Improvement is working with general practitioners (GPs) to ensure a systematic approach to the identification, diagnosis and optimal management of patients with AF; developing clear guidelines on anticoagulation to ensure that patients who have AF are appropriately anticoagulated, and continuing to promote opportunistic, screening for AF with the Atrial Fibrillation Association and the Stroke Association.
	The guidelines and algorithm published by NHS Diabetes and the Royal College of GPs in March 2011 will help GPs diagnose diabetes accurately for every patient. The new audit tools that have also been developed will help GPs to share information and look at similar cases to help to resolve even the most difficult of cases.
	GP training includes acquiring competence in recognising and managing appropriate aspects of diabetes.

Health Services: Sexual Offences

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government have taken to improve the provision of health services to victims of sexual crime in the West Midlands.

Anne Milton: In 2010-11, the Home Office and the Department jointly funded the development of a health needs assessment of sexual violence in the West Midlands Police Force area and awarded grants to improve forensic medical services at the Rowan centres in Castle Vale and Walsall. The health needs assessment is complete and local partners are considering how best to develop sexual assault referral services to meet needs.

Health: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill on (a) patient safety and (b) safeguarding children in London.

Simon Burns: Clause 20 of the Health and Social Care Bill inserts section 13Q into the National Health Service Act 2006 and is intended to give the NHS Commissioning Board responsibility for the functions currently carried out by the National Patient Safety Agency in respect of reporting and learning from patient safety incidents. The intention is to ensure that patient safety is embedded into the health service through commissioning and the contracts commissioners agree with providers.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will be uniquely placed in the system to utilise the information gathered by the reporting and learning function to support, encourage and enable safety improvement in the NHS. It will be able to combine insight from safety reporting with operational knowledge, leadership, authority and system oversight, to ensure appropriate levers, initiatives and support are provided to the NHS to improve safety.
	It is essential that current safeguarding responsibilities are sustained and taken over by new organisations such as clinical commissioning groups. NHS bodies have a statutory duty to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and are statutory members of Local Safeguarding Children Boards. These duties will transfer to the new organisations under the Health and Social Care Bill.
	In response to a recommendation in Professor Eileen Munro's review of child protection, the Department of Health and the Department for Education published on 31 October a work programme, co-produced with key partners, to ensure that effective arrangements to safeguard children are central to the health reforms.
	As part of that programme, work is in hand to develop an accountability framework for the NHS contribution to safeguarding children, setting out more detail on the proposed new arrangements. This will set the framework for development both within the NHS and in local partnership arrangements.

Health: Screening

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has any plans to include testosterone tests as part of the assessment of diabetes risk in the men's health check;
	(2)  whether he has any plans to update the range of tests conducted under the NHS Health Check programme.

Simon Burns: The NHS Health Check programme is based on guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence—which reviews the clinical and cost-effectiveness of interventions in medicine and advises on how to improve people's health and prevent illness—and on economic modelling undertaken by the Department. We continue to keep the components of the NHS Health Check under review as new evidence emerges.

NHS Trusts: Finance

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) debt and (b) revenue budget balance has been of each NHS hospital trust in England outside of London in each of the last four years.

Simon Burns: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

NHS Trusts: Private Finance Initiative

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payment would have to be made to enable the relevant health care trust to exit each private finance initiative contract signed by his Department between 1997 and 2010.

Simon Burns: Under a private finance initiative contract, national health service trusts may terminate the contract with notice at any time, without having to prove right and regardless of any prejudice to the private sector. Under these circumstances, compensation would be payable to the contractor on a trust default basis, the financial calculations of which aim to put the contractor in a position that is equivalent to that had the contract run its full length. The size of the agreed payment will thus be specific to individual schemes.

NHS: Negligence

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical negligence claims involving a fatality were made in each year since 1997-8; and what the monetary value was of payments made against such claims in each year.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the number of clinical negligence fatality claims by the year in which they were notified to the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), the number of claims closed in each year, and the damage paid in each year since 1997-98.
	
		
			   Claims closed 
			 NHSLA notification year Number of claims received Number Closed Damages paid ( £) 
			 1997-98 223 223 14,275,129 
			 1998-99 659 659 24,600,103 
			 1999-2000 458 457 25,733,683 
			 2000-01 514 514 23,769,768 
			 2001-02 655 653 25,776,260 
			 2002-03 697 697 27,311,964 
			 2003-04 628 624 19,674,262 
			 2004-05 645 638 19,111,752 
			 2005-06 654 643 25,501,204 
			 2006-07 640 622 26,154,377 
			 2007-08 712 663 27,143,395 
			 2008-09 758 612 19,259,740 
			 2009-10 903 565 13,792,949 
			 Source: NHS Litigation Authority, 2011

NHS: Pensions

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS paid in employer contributions to NHS pensions in each financial year since 1997-98 in respect of (a) senior managers, (b) general practitioners and (c) nurses.

Simon Burns: It is not possible to segregate pension contributions by job type in respect of senior managers, general practitioners (GPs) and nurses from 1997. Employers pay contributions for all their employees and do not break down the contributions to job type level. Analysis of this data would involve disproportionate costs.
	Data relating to GPs and employer contributions are available from 2009. The following table provided by the NHS Pensions Agency illustrates the sum of contributions paid by GPs between 2009-11.
	
		
			 £000 
			 GP contributions to the NHS Pension Scheme 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Employer contributions 463,000 470,754 
			 Employee contributions 365,858 317,225 
			 Total contributions 829,426 787,979 
			 Source: The NHS Pension Scheme and NHS Compensation for retirement Scheme Resource Accounts. 
		
	
	GP practices are required to pay the 14% employee contribution for all staff who are members of the NHS pension scheme, including GP partners who own the practice itself. As part of the new contractual and payment arrangements agreed with the GPs Committee of the British Medical Association in 2004, GP practices are provided with the necessary funding to fully meet the required employers pension contributions.
	Contributions made by and on behalf of GPs are to pay for pension promises being built up and are assessed by the Scheme Actuary using SCAPE methodology (Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience).

NHS: Pensions

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of retired members of the NHS pension scheme who are in receipt of £33,000 or more per year as part of their NHS pension.

Simon Burns: The number of retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme who are in receipt of over £33,000 per year, and excluding any lump sum payments or any pensions arrears is as follows:
	
		
			  Pensioners 
			 2010-11 25,531 
			 2009-10 23,499 
			 2008-09 20,057 
		
	
	The data were provided by the NHS Pensions Agency.

NHS: Public Bodies

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date each (a) foundation trust, (b) NHS social enterprise, (c) pathfinder clinical commissioning group, (d) practice-based commissioning groups and (e) pathfinder health and wellbeing board in England was established; for each such body which has since ceased to exist, what the date of closure was; and which constituencies each such body serves.

Simon Burns: Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) has authorised 141 national health service foundation trusts. A table listing the organisations and their authorisation dates (as at 1 December 2011) has been placed in the Library.
	Since its introduction in 2008, 40 social enterprises have been established under the Right to Request policy by NHS staff working in primary and community care. These social enterprises comprise approximately 10% of community staff and 11% of the community services budget. A table listing the organisations and their go-live dates (as of 30 November 2011) has been placed in the Library.
	The pathfinder clinical commissioning group (CCGs) programme is about testing the principles of our proposals for clinical commissioning groups. As such pathfinder CCGs will be able to change their composition, as they work to find the most appropriate configuration for improving care for their patients, before they apply to the NHS Commissioning Board for to be established. With the announcement of Cohort 6 of the pathfinder programme 266 pathfinder CCGs were in existence.
	A complete list of those CCGs is available on the Department's website at:
	http://healthandcare.dh.gov.uk/context/consortia/
	The cohorts were announced as follows:
	Cohort 1: 8 December 2010
	Cohort 2: 17 January 2011
	Cohort 3: 2 March 2011
	Cohort 4: 1 April 2011
	Cohort 5: 7 July 2011
	Cohort 6: 10 October 2011
	Information on practice based commissioning groups is not held centrally.
	It is for partners in local areas to establish their own arrangements and time scales for setting up health and wellbeing boards.

Obesity: Children

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on tackling childhood obesity; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Government have recently published “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England”. This sets out how obesity among children will be tackled in the new public health and national health service systems, and the role of key partners.
	The Government have set a new national ambition for reversing the trend in the level of excess weight in children by 2020. The call to action sets out a number of initiatives to tackle childhood obesity, this includes the Change4Life Programme, the National Child Measurement Programme, the school games and Change4Life sports clubs.
	A copy of the call to action has already been placed in the Library.

Patients

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated by the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Out - patient and in - patient hospital activity, England (provider based) 
			  Out - patients In - patients 
			  1st attendances seen Subsequent attendances seen Total attendances seen Elective general and acute FFCEs Non-elective general and acute FFCEs Total general and acute FFCEs 
			 2001-02 12,612,615 31,062,363 43,674,978 5,286,086 3,967,192 9,253,278 
			 2002-03 12,878,799 30,886,026 43,764,825 5,413,638 4,013,308 9,426,946 
			 2003-04 13,430,530 31,689,082 45,119,612 5,549,737 4,289,573 9,839,309 
			 2004-05 13,370,173 31,397,428 44,767,601 5,529,668 4,549,542 10,079,210 
			 2005-06 13,726,838 31,494,275 45,221,113 5,762,285 4,781,500 10,543,785 
			 2006-07 13,600,443 31,109,612 44,710,055 5,964,409 4,895,313 10,859,722 
			 2007-08 14,214,277 31,488,416 45,702,693 6,499,121 4,974,598 11,473,719 
			 2008-09 15,536,590 33,176,698 48,713,288 6,778,017 5,205,350 11,983,367 
			 2009-10 16,412,534 34,327,011 50,739,545 6,951,646 5,364,563 12,316,209 
			 2010-11 16,954,190 35,498,064 52,452,254 7,211,663 5,499,325 12,710,988 
			 Notes: The out-patient attendances are for all specialties. The in-patient First Finished Consultant Episodes (FFCEs) are for general and acute specialties only. General and acute does not include maternity, mental illness and learning disability. Source: Department of Health Quarterly Activity Return (QAR) for outpatient attendances and Monthly Activity Return (MAR) for In-patient FFCEs.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Simon Burns: The Department uses postcode information in a wide range of analytical and statistical systems, typically as a means to link datasets together or to relate data to larger geographical areas such as local authority areas and the output areas defined by the Office for National Statistics for use in reporting census data and other statistical products.
	For example, in calculating primary care trust target revenue allocations, the Department obtains data from national health service systems on the number of patients registered with general practices by postcode. This information is used to estimate the number of general practice registrations in output areas for which other information is available, such as estimates of levels of deprivation. Departmental outputs are not typically published at postcode level.
	A full listing of all uses of postcode data could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We are also unable to identify the very wide use of postcode data within the NHS, except at disproportionate cost.

Pregnant Women: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are provided by his Department to partners of expectant mothers in Coventry.

Anne Milton: Local national health service organisations develop health services to meet the needs and priorities of their populations. To help this process the Department recently launched three resources: “Preparing for Birth and Beyond”, “Reaching out: Involving fathers in maternity care” and “Top tips for involving fathers in maternity care”.
	These publications have been placed in the Library.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which hospitals provide Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Treatment (SBRT) for cancer patients; and how many (a) early stage lung cancer and (b) prostate cancer patients were treated with SBRT in each hospital in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  on what date the National Clinical Director for Cancer informed him of the need to develop a stereotactic body radiotherapy tariff; who in his Department is responsible for the development of the tariff; what progress his Department has made in developing the tariff; and when he expects to make the national tariff for stereotactic radiotherapy available to commissioners;
	(3)  pursuant to the answers of 27 June 2011, Official Report, column 536W, of 10 October 2011, Official Report, columns 311-12W and of 2 November 2011, Official Report, columns 636-7W, on radiotherapy, whether commissioners are able to spend the extra £150 million allocated for new radiotherapy services on services unrelated to radiotherapy or the treatment of cancer.

Paul Burstow: The £150 million additional funding is included in overall primary care trust (PCT) baseline allocations. These allocations are not broken down by service or policy area. It is for PCTs to commission services using these funds to meet the health care needs of their local populations, taking account of local and national priorities.
	The National Cancer Director has made no recommendation to the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), concerning the need to develop a tariff for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). We have said work is under way nationally to develop radiotherapy tariffs and this will include consideration of a tariff for SBRT in due course. The development of tariffs is the responsibility of the Department's Payment by Results team.
	Hospital episode statistics are unable to provide data concerning the total number of patients receiving SBRT or those receiving SBRT for either early stage lung cancer or prostate cancer. There is only one clinical coding available for identifying SBRT and this is for stereotactic radiosurgery on tissue of the brain. However, we understand that SBRT is already available to patients on the national health service in over a quarter of all radiotherapy centres in England.

Social Services: Fees and Charges

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government on the possible extra costs for the NHS of local authorities introducing changes to the criteria governing eligibility for social care;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the possible extra costs which will be incurred by the NHS in each region as a result of local authorities introducing changes to the criteria for eligibility for social care.

Paul Burstow: In the spending review, Government recognised the pressures on the adult social care system within a challenging settlement for local government, and took the decision to prioritise adult social care by allocating an additional £7.2 billion to the system over the four years to 2014-15 to support local authorities in delivering social care.
	When combined with a rigorous local authority focus on efficiency, this additional £7.2 billion means that there is funding available to protect people's access to care and deliver new approaches to improve quality and outcomes.

Social Services: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure consistent levels of provision of social care support across the country.

Paul Burstow: Local authorities are responsible for providing or arranging care services for their populations. Their funds are derived from local taxation and funding from central Government. The great majority of this funding is provided without condition. It is for local authorities to decide how best to manage their resources, according to local priorities.
	In the spending review, the Government recognised the pressures on the adult social care system within a challenging settlement for local government. They took the decision to prioritise adult social care by allocating an additional £7.2 billion to local authorities over the four years to 2014-15 to support them in meeting their social care commitments.
	When combined with a rigorous local focus on efficiency, this additional money will mean that there is funding available to protect people's access to care and deliver new approaches to improve quality and outcomes.

Tuberculosis

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in preventing the spread of tuberculosis.

Anne Milton: Provisional data for 2010 show there were 7,862 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in England, a decrease of 7% on the corresponding number of cases in 2009, which is encouraging. However, it is too early to say whether this is the beginning of a downward trend. Sustained action by national health service organisations and their partners is needed to improve detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB. Final data for 2010 will be published by the Health Protection Agency later this month.
	The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have published guidance to help the NHS in commissioning and providing effective TB services. We are also funding the TB national charity, TB Alert, to raise public and professional awareness of TB.

DEFENCE

Stephen Crouch

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) special advisers in his Department have met Mr Stephen Crouch on official business since May 2010; and how many such meetings took place (i) on his Department's premises and (ii) elsewhere.

Philip Hammond: 1 refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2011, Official Report, columns 25-26W, to the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas).

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to provide additional minutes of free talk time above normal allocations over the Christmas and new year period for armed forces personnel serving in Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: Armed forces personnel serving abroad on operations routinely receive an extra 30 minutes free talk time during Christmas week from the MOD. This is in addition to their regular weekly allocation, which is a minimum of 30 minutes, dependent on tour length. These allowances are provided under the WelComE (Welfare Communications Everywhere) project, which forms part of the deployment welfare package. This year personnel will also receive an additional 45 minutes from Paradigm, the communications company responsible for providing the WelComE service.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of Christmas cards and gifts sent to British service personnel in Afghanistan which arrived in time for Christmas in 2010.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) on 13 December 2010, Official Report, columns 452-53W.
	All mail received at the British Forces Post Office sorting depot by 3 December 2010 was delivered to Afghanistan in time for Christmas.

Air Force: Military Bases

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2011, Official Report, column 993W, on Air Force: military bases, what the (a) names and (b) positions held are of those attending the meetings on 11 January and 26 May 2011.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 31 October 2011
	At both meetings, the previous Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), was supported by a private secretary, and by a special adviser.

Armed Forces: Crime

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many arrests have been made by the Ministry of Defence Police since May 2010; and how many of those arrests resulted in prosecutions.

Andrew Robathan: The Police national computer records that the Ministry of Defence Police has held 528 arrest summons reports within England and Wales, since 1 May 2010. The prosecution result of these arrests could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of depth therapy for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of wounded service personnel.

Andrew Robathan: The policy of the Defence Mental Health Services is to provide psychotherapies that have a proven evidence base for their use in the UK. “Depth therapy” is a name given to one of many varieties of psychoanalytic therapy, but it is not one which has been specifically approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for use in the UK. NICE only approve treatments which have been rigorously scientifically investigated and represent an acceptable risk-benefit intervention.
	NICE guidance on treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder indicates that two psychotherapeutic interventions are known to be effective; these are Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both of these are available through the Ministry of Defence's military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH), and are delivered by appropriately trained and supervised practitioners.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to make information about injured service personnel more accessible to the public.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is committed to making public a range of information on the numbers of service personnel injured on operations. We publish the numbers of personnel categorised as very seriously injured and seriously injured as a result of Operation Herrick on our website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInAfghanistan BritishCasualties.htm
	The figures are updated fortnightly.
	In addition, we publish on a quarterly basis the numbers of service personnel who have suffered limb amputations as a result of injuries sustained while on operational deployment, and Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) published figures up to 30 September 2011 in November 2011. However, in order both to protect the identities of small numbers of patients and to maintain operational security for the effectiveness of our protective countermeasures, we do not routinely publish very serious injury and serious injury sub-classified by other types of physical injury.
	DASA also publishes the UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report four times a year (plus an annual digest), which summarises all episodes of care of service personnel to the MOD's Departments of Community Mental Health for out-patient care, and new admissions to the MOD's in-patient care contractor.
	All DASA health and medical reports can be found on the DASA website www.dasa.mod.uk under “Other Publications” and “Health/Medical Statistics”. This website includes the annual Defence Statistics publication that provides health related information in chapter three. This publication includes operational fatalities and injuries tables.

Armed Forces: Members

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations his Department has received from (a) civilian and (b) military sources concerning the (i) operations and (ii) sponsorship of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in the last five years.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 15 November 2011
	In the last five years, the Ministry of Defence has received eight parliamentary questions, five letters from hon. Members and one letter from a member of the public. The MOD has also received 20 freedom of information requests. Other representations may have been received, but are not held centrally or are not identifiable.
	There have also been various discussions between military officers and Ministers.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of (a) current and (b) former members of the armed forces who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the number of patients attending a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) who were initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the period 1 April 2007 to 30 June 2011, the latest date for which verified data is available.
	
		
			  PTSD cases 
			 2007-08 174 
			 2008-09 142 
			 2009-10 195 
			 2010-11 253 
			 1 April-30 June 2011 59 
		
	
	Figures up to June 2009 are for each first referral of an individual to a DCMH. Since July 2009, each new episode of care has been recorded, meaning that individuals who have been previously treated and discharged from care, but subsequently re-referred, will be counted again. Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	This answer incorporates data from the latest UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report (issued on 30 September 2011) which includes statistics on PTSD. This information can be found on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) website www.DASA.mod.uk under “Other Publications” and “Health/Medical Statistics”. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Ex-service personnel who require treatment for PTSD will receive it through their local NHS provider, and no central record is maintained of the numbers diagnosed with the condition. However, we continue to work closely with the Department of Health to improve the whole range of mental health care available to former servicemen and women.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Repairs and Maintenance

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armoured vehicles have undergone major repair and overhaul in the last five years; what proportion of the fleet this represents; and where the repairs were undertaken.

Peter Luff: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Vehicle Geographical location of repair Base overhaul/economic base repair (last five years) Percentage of fleet as at 22 November 2011 
			 Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle Bovington 40 50 
			 Challenger 2 Bovington 37 11 
			 Warrior Donnington 458 58 
			 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Donnington 432 37 
			 FV430/Bulldog Bovington 795 89 
		
	
	Base overhaul involves the complete disassembly/reassembly of the vehicle, including qualification of the hull, to design specification. Economic base repair involves selective disassembly/reassembly of the vehicles including qualification of the hull, to design specification.
	The figure does not include repairs such as assembly changes, modification programmes, ad hoc repairs, overseas repairs and urgent operational requirement programmes. This information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

AWE Aldermaston: Committees

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the remit of the Atomic Weapons Establishment's Local Liaison Committee includes consideration of classified information relating to matters which fall within the Committee's remit.

Peter Luff: The remit of the Atomic Weapons Establishment's Local Liaison Committee (LLC) relates principally to safety and the environment.
	Written material provided to LLC members is not classified, and classified material is not routinely discussed at LLC meetings. However, LLC members are required to hold Government security clearances to allow discussions of a lower level classified nature, should that be necessary.

Charities

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what grants his Department made to charitable organisations in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: Funding provided through grants in aid to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. A grant in aid is typically used to fund part or all of the administration costs of the recipient body.
	
		
			 Body 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (final outturn) 
			 Air Training Corps 33,005 34,000 34,850 35,721 36,614 
			 Armed Forces Memorial — — — 113,113 205,612 
			 National Memorial Arboretum 250,000 189,220 371,296 346,950 433,942 
			 Army Families Federation 291,444 293,190 300,093 332,100 366,558 
			 Army Sports Control Board 307,245 417,195 434,032 425,744 458,960 
			 Commonwealth War Graves Commission 32,392,094 34,199,339 36,601,286 47,844,871 44,641,049 
			 Council of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations — 57,489,076 59,369,448 63,490,300 62,758,836 
			 Council of Voluntary Welfare Work 125,469 80,448 85,273 77,793 144,803 
			 Duke of York’s Royal Military School — — — — 154,469 
			 Fleet Air Arm Museum 593,724 614,000 631,000 (1)— (1)— 
			 Gurkha Welfare Trust 679,010 988,000 1,077,000 938,000 1,421,000 
			 National Army Museum 5,292,879 5,489,000 5,734,850 5,515,222 6,312,403 
			 National Museum of the Royal Navy — — — 3,237,466 2,797,046 
			 Naval Families Federation 149,220 92,620 185,000 223,000 248,601 
			 RAF Museum 6,774,110 7,019,000 7,989,309 7,367,000 7,552,000 
			 RAF Sports Board 165,923 65,865 149,837 288,387 160,770 
			 Royal Marine Museum 740,788 765,480 783,000 (1)— (1)— 
			 Royal Navy Museum 895,502 873,000 1,045,000 (1)— (1)— 
			 RN Sports Board 272,907 — — — — 
			 RN Submarine Museum 561,997 575,708 591,000 (1)— (1)— 
			 Royal British Legion Polish Ex-servicemen 81,567 141,000 120,000 110,181 80,000 
			 Royal British Legion War Widows 65,665 61,000 61,000 62,220 (2)— 
			 Royal Hospital Chelsea 9,232,000 9,554,000 10,487,000 10,824,000 10,838,000 
			 Royal Irish Home Service Benevolent Fund — — — 124,179 64,246 
			 Royal Navy Marine Society and Sea Cadets 8,228,969 9,300,419 8,941,426 9,450,215 9,224,094 
			 Scott Polar Research Institute 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 
			 Skill Force 2,502,000 1,000,000 500,000 250,000 (3)— 
			 Victoria & George Cross Reunion Association 30,000 — 40,000 40,000 — 
			 (1) The National Museum of the Royal Navy has provided funding to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, the Royal Marines Museum, the Royal Navy Museum and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum since 2009-10. (2 )The Royal British Legion did not arrange any pilgrimages in 2010-11. (3 )Skills Force is now funded by the Department for Education and Skills. 
		
	
	A breakdown of expenditure including grants as well as grants in aid could be provided only at disproportionate cost as the grant funding mechanism is delegated locally and we do not currently identify discretely those grants which relate to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. We also provide funding to the sector through commercial contractual arrangements for specific services.
	In my answer to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) on 7 June 2011, Official Report, columns 26-28W, I gave the provisional outturn figures for 2010-11. This answer updates those figures to final outturn, corrects the 2007-08 and 2009-10 balance of funding between the Armed Forces Memorial and the National Memorial Arboretum and shows the RAF Sports/Sports Control Board as a single line entry. I apologise for the errors and for the delay in answering this question.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  to which local authorities service personnel currently stationed in Cyprus will return; and how many such personnel will return to each such local authority;
	(2)  how many service personnel currently stationed in Cyprus will return to the UK; and when any such return will take place.

Nick Harvey: As part of the Army's routine unit rotations: the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment (2 R ANGLIAN) and The 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (2 YORKS) are the two infantry units currently stationed in Cyprus.
	2 R ANGLIAN are due to return to the former Royal Air Force station at Cottesmore, in Rutland county council, in July 2012. This will see the move of approximately 620 service personnel and their families.
	2 YORKS are due to move from Cyprus to Elizabeth Barracks, in Surrey county council, in July 2013. This will also see the move of some 620 service personnel and their families.
	These moves are routine and troop numbers in Cyprus will therefore remain unchanged; both 2 R ANGLIAN and 2 YORKS will be replaced by other infantry battalions. The Royal Air Force will continue to rotate individuals out of Cyprus as part of routine postings.

Defence Acquisition Independent Review

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which recommendations from the Gray Review of Defence Acquisition the Government (a) has implemented and (b) plans to implement.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence accepted the majority of the Gray Review's recommendations, as set out in “The Defence Strategy for Acquisition Reform (CM 7796)” published in February 2010. The resulting actions have either been progressed, taken into defence reform more broadly or are being reconsidered as part of the forthcoming Materiel Strategy.

Defence: Finance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the £4.3 billion new front-line savings identified in the Strategic Defence and Security Review have been made to date.

Philip Hammond: Non front-line savings have been built into the budgets delegated to the Ministry of Defence’s top level budget (TLB) holders. The Department monitors TLBs’ performance against their budget on a monthly basis, and their implementation of non front-line savings and efficiencies quarterly.
	Detailed analysis of our performance against these measures will be reported annually, after the departmental accounts have been audited.

Defence: Procurement

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the (a) cost and (b) delivery timescale of the Falcon Increment A Project; what the budget was for the project; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: holding answer 15 November 2011
	The anticipated costs of Increment A of Project Falcon are projected to be £272 million; the budget for Increment A is £324 million as stated in the 2010 Major Projects Review. The delivery timescale of the project is currently under review.

Food Procurement

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the same standards of animal welfare for whole eggs apply to imported liquefied eggs procured by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible;
	(2)  what proportion of food sourced by (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible was procured from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what steps (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure that they meet the Government’s buying standards for food and catering.

Peter Luff: Catering for Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian personnel employed at UK Defence establishments is provided through regional prime contracts or under multi-activity contracts. Armed forces personnel ‘in barracks’ are primarily catered for through a number of catering, retail and leisure (CRL) and other multi-activity contracts.
	Information on the procurement of liquefied eggs obtained from outside of the UK and on the proportion of food procured under these contracts from UK suppliers, is not held.
	Contractors appointed under these arrangements are obliged to source on the open market consistent with meeting EU competition rules and quality standards.
	For armed forces personnel not covered by these contractual arrangements and those serving on operations and overseas exercises, there is a single food supply contract with Purple Foodservice Solutions Ltd (PFS). PFS lists approximately 1,150 different food-related items for the armed forces in the core range price list. Currently, they estimate that approximately 60% of lines listed (excluding fresh produce) are sourced from suppliers within the UK. The percentage figures for previous years, for which figures are readily available, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2006-07 43 
			 2007-08 59 
			 2008-09 62 
			 2009-10 60 
		
	
	The percentage of UK produced goods changes regularly as a result of seasonality; value for money incentives; and changes of supplier. Some products are manufactured using a number of ingredients from various countries including the UK while others, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, are sourced seasonally from a variety of countries.
	All food procured through the PFS contract, including whole eggs, is produced to UK and EU production and farm assurance standards or equivalent. We do not procure liquefied eggs under this contract.
	The MOD is fully committed to supporting the Government Buying Standards (GBS) except where operational requirements make this impractical. MOD food provision in terms of the operational arena and in circumstances of extreme training conditions is exempt from those GBS which may adversely affect the nutritional status and well-being of personnel. In these circumstances, it is recognised that the personnel are operating under very different circumstances to those which the GBS criteria were developed to meet.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on special advisers in 2010-11; how much has been allocated for 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: In financial year 2010-11, the Ministry of Defence spent around £160,000 on salaries for special advisers. The cost of special advisers is treated as one part of the cost of the private office, as such there is no separate allocation for special advisers.

Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has audited the framework agreement technical support process in the last 12 months; and if he will make any such audit public.

Peter Luff: In January 2011, Defence Internal Audit was commissioned to produce a report on the Framework Agreement for Technical Support. This was issued on 4 November 2011 and I will place a copy in the Library of the House.

EU Defence Policy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what officials from his Department will attend the European Defence Agency's conference on European Defence Co-operation on 31 January 2012.

Peter Luff: On current plans, the European Defence Agency's conference on European Defence Co-operation will be attended by the MOD's Head of Defence International Acquisition Policy.

European Defence Agency

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency; and what was discussed at that time.

Peter Luff: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has not yet had the opportunity to meet the chief executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA). The Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr Howarth), met with the chief executive at the EDA Steering Board in Defence Ministers formation in Brussels on 30 November 2011, at which a range of issues were discussed including pooling and sharing, operations and partnerships.

Ex-servicemen: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what tailored training and advice is made available by his Department to help veterans of the armed forces find work;
	(2)  what support his Department makes available to help those leaving the armed forces to find work; and at what cost such help is made available.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 29 November 2011
	All service leavers are entitled to some form of resettlement advice, whatever their rank and length of service. Further support is available to eligible personnel through the Career Transition Partnership (a partnership between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Right Management) through training courses, which are free from tuition fees; career transition workshops; employment and future career advice; assistance with CV writing and job preparation; vocational training; and a job-search/recruitment facility. In addition, lifetime job finding support is available from the Officers' Association or the Regular Forces Employment Association.
	Each jobcentre district has an armed forces champion who has up-to-date knowledge of armed forces issues in the local area and will also provide support to veterans. Welfare benefits are a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions but advice and assistance in accessing benefits is available from the MOD's Veterans Welfare Service.
	The contract with the Career Transition Partnership is currently valued at some £9 million each year.

Germany: Armed Forces

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  to which local authorities armed forces personnel returning from Germany by 2015 will return; and how many such personnel will return to each such local authority;
	(2)  how many armed forces personnel will return from Germany by 2015.

Peter Luff: As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Ministry of Defence aims to return half of its personnel based in Germany to the UK by 2015. On 10 November, the Army announced the return of some 1,800 personnel and their families to Cottesmore, Pirbright and Abingdon as part of a preliminary moves package. The local authorities concerned in these cases are Rutland county council, Surrey county council and Oxfordshire county council respectively.
	Further work is currently ongoing into the future size and structure of the Army and this is expected to provide the detail of the estate requirements for the remaining units returning from Germany. Until work is complete, it is too early to identify precisely which local authorities will be affected.

Guided Weapons

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many air sorties were flown in the Afghanistan campaign in each month of the two years to the end of October 2011.

Philip Hammond: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Harrier Aircraft: Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the per unit purchase cost of GR9 Harriers was when the aircraft first entered service.

Peter Luff: The Harrier GR9 was not purchased from new but was an upgrade of the previous Harrier GR7 aircraft. This aircraft was itself an upgrade of the Harrier GR5 which was introduced into service in 1989. The upgrade to GR9 standard was achieved through a series of incremental steps implemented during normal maintenance periods under the £500 million joint upgrade and maintenance programme.
	Including the historical cost of the Harrier GR5, as recorded in the Ministry of Defence's fixed asset register, and subsequent upgrade costs, the average cost of a Harrier GR9 was some £21.5 million.
	Overall the sale of the Harrier fleet and associated running and maintenance costs will save around £1 billion.

Lockheed Martin

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) total monetary value and (b) type was of each contract between his Department and (i) Lockheed Martin and (ii) Northrop Grumman in the financial year 2009-10.

Peter Luff: There were 159 extant contracts in place with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman during financial year 2009-10 against which payments were made by the Ministry of Defence. This number includes contracts with companies that are subsidiaries of the respective holding companies and some which are part of joint ventures with other companies.
	The values are provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Contract value banding Number of Lockheed Martin contracts Number of Northrop Grumman contracts 
			 Over £500 million 2 1 
			 £250 million to £500 million 1 0 
			 £100 million to £250 million 3 1 
			 £50 million to £100 million 6 1 
			 £25 million to £50 million 7. 0 
			 £10 million to £25 million 10 1 
			 £5 million to £10 million 7 1 
			 Under £5 million 68 50 
			 Total contracts 104 55 
		
	
	The types of contracts are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Industrial Grouping Number of Lockheed Martin  c ontracts Number of Northrop Grumman  c ontracts 
			 Aircraft and Spacecraft 10 2 
			 Computer services 21 3 
			 Data Processing Equipment 2 0 
			 Electricity, Gas and Water 2 0 
			 Electronics 3 26 
			 Financial Services, Business Activities, Education, Health, and Other Service Activities Not Elsewhere Classified (NEC) 32 0 
			 Transportation Activities 1 0 
			 Manufacturing N.E.C 9 10 
			 Motor Vehicles and Parts 1 1 
			 Other Electrical Engineering 3 4 
			 Precision Instruments 7 7 
			 Real Estate and Renting 1 0 
			 Telecommunications 2 0 
			 Weapons and Ammunition 9 2 
			 Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles 1 0 
			 Total 104 55

Pitcairn Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department’s officials have visited the overseas territory of the Pitcairn Islands in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Harvey: There are no records of any Defence officials visiting the Pitcairn Islands in the last 10 years.

RAF Leuchars

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an assessment has been made of the effect of the proposed transfer of the Typhoon force from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth on flying hours per squadron per year as currently maintained at RAF Leuchars.

Nick Harvey: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff), on 3 November 2011, Official Report, columns 694-95W.

Territorial Army

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army personnel are on active service; and how many are expected to be on active service during the Christmas period.

Andrew Robathan: As at 23 November 2011, there were 630 Territorial Army (TA) personnel who have been mobilised on active service, most of whom are supporting the UK's Regular Forces in Afghanistan. We expect the figure for those who will be on active service over the Christmas period to be similar.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Business Rates

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to introduce a scheme for businesses experiencing financial difficulties to defer payment of business rates from April 2012.

Bob Neill: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in his autumn statement that the Government will give businesses the opportunity to defer 60% of the increase in their 2012-13 business rate bills as a result of the annual Retail Prices Index uprating, to be repaid equally across the following two years.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to my written ministerial statement made today on local government finance, which further highlights this Government’s support for business.

Tottenham Regeneration

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to support regeneration in Tottenham; and if he will make a statement.

Eric Pickles: We are providing £20 million for the Mayor to support the regeneration of Tottenham and Croydon through the London Enterprise Fund. The Mayor will be making an announcement about the use of this funding, together with additional funding from the Greater London Authority, in the new year. Funding from the Riot Recovery Scheme and High Street Support funding have also been made available.

Government Procurement Card

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to increase transparency in the use of the Government Procurement Card by his Department.

Eric Pickles: We have opened up these taxpayer-funded corporate credit cards to the sunlight of transparency.
	My Department has published details of every single transaction from the beginning of 2011 back to 2006.
	That openness has helped us identify waste and inefficiency, saving taxpayers’ money.

Home Ownership

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to support home ownership.

Grant Shapps: On 21 November we published our Housing Strategy which sets out an ambitious programme to support home ownership, including support for up to 100,000 prospective buyers with small deposits to buy a new home and increasing Right to Buy discounts to up to 50%, benefiting up to 100,000 current tenants.

Third Sector

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the third sector of reductions in funding for local authorities.

Andrew Stunell: Local spending decisions are a matter for local councils but there is no excuse to target the voluntary sector disproportionately.
	We are working closely with the third sector to assess capacity and provide support, for example through the Transition Fund and Big Society Capital and we are looking together at opportunities for the voluntary and community sector from increased local authority commissioning.

Council Tax Benefits

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has held with local authorities on the timescale of the introduction of his planned local authority-based schemes for council tax benefit support.

Bob Neill: Officials from the Department regularly meet with local government representatives to discuss a range of issues. During the consultation on proposals for the localisation of support for council tax the Department held 16 engagement events with local authorities and other interested groups.

Policy Announcements

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions during the present session of Parliament new policy announcements have been briefed to the media by (a) him and (b) other Ministers in his Department before they were made to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to him on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 911-12W. I would add that during parliamentary recess, on those occasions where policy announcements need to be made, we ensure that hon. and right hon. Members are updated when the House returns in the form of a post-recess written ministerial statement; details of such announcements are documented in the Official Report.

Empty Property

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to return empty homes to use.

Andrew Stunell: We have put in place powerful tools and incentives to support local communities to tackle empty homes. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister published “Laying the Foundations”—A Housing Strategy for England on 21 November which sets out our plans for dealing with empty homes.

Green Belt

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures his Department has put in place to protect the Green Belt from housing developments.

Bob Neill: We have clearly stated our commitment to maintaining strong protections for the Green Belt. National policy on Green Belt protection—in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: “Green Belts”—is being updated as part of the National Planning Policy Framework. The draft Framework includes rigorous policies for the continued protection of Green Belt from inappropriate development. We are now considering all responses received to our consultation on the draft Framework. Our proposed abolition of the unpopular Regional Strategies would remove top-down pressure on councils to review the extent of their Green Belt in 30 areas across England.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the basis was for his decision to introduce a zero carbon requirement for all new homes from 2016 instead of a nearly zero carbon requirement from 2021.

Grant Shapps: The previous Administration set the target for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016 following a consultation launched in December 2006. The consensus following that consultation was that the 2016 date provided a realistic timetable. This Government endorsed that objective and timetable after we came in to office. The Government recognises that the 2016 target is challenging and we have redefined the zero carbon homes standard in a way which is much more practical and cost effective and is supported by the sector, in particular through the invaluable work carried out by the Zero Carbon Hub. The requirement for new homes to be nearly zero energy by 31 December 2020 comes from the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast, which was adopted in May 2010.

Housing: Fire Extinguishers

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment was made in developing the Building Regulations 2000 of the merits of requiring installation of automatic fire suppression systems in new residential premises with respect to (a) comparative evidence from other countries, (b) the effect on the environment of a reduction in the size of fires, (c) the effect on the economy of a reduction in the size of fires, (d) the effect on firefighter safety and (e) the risk of fire for an ageing population.

Bob Neill: The last review of the fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations was completed in 2006. The Final Regulatory Impact Assessment was published on 13 December 2006. This sets out the details of the assessments made at that time and refers to the cost benefit analysis that formed part of a 2005 study into the effectiveness of residential sprinklers. This study relied extensively on US data where UK data were not available. The Impact Assessment and the 2005 report can be found on the Department website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/regulatoryimpactassessment10
	and
	www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/rpts/partb/sprinkler_section6.pdf

Housing: Older People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure house building schemes take into account the needs of older people.

Bob Neill: Part M (access to and use of buildings) of the building regulations already includes a number of provisions including level thresholds, downstairs toilets and accessible switches and sockets that help to make all new homes more accessible and age friendly. In addition, the Housing Strategy published on 21 November sets out the Government’s view that new housing developments need to make further suitable provision for the ageing population by ensuring a mix of property types, including lifetime homes, which help to provide the diversity and choice needed to support longer term independent living. Future needs will vary considerably at a local level and we believe that decisions on the number of lifetime homes within each development should be made at a local level, in proportion to local need and aligned with other local housing support and information services. We are exploring how research undertaken by DCLG can be used to support local authorities in developing proportionate and effective policy at a local level.
	The draft national planning policy framework asks local councils to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the community, including older and disabled people. The draft framework makes clear that councils should have a robust understanding of housing requirements in their area, and that they should produce local plans, in consultation with people in the local area.

Local Government: Pensions

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has undertaken an economic impact assessment in respect of the proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme on members in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry North East constituency.

Bob Neill: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers given on 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 23W, to the hon. Members for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) and Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristam Hunt).

Planning Permission: Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department plans to provide to local planning authorities on suitable indicators for monitoring the protection and restoration of biodiversity through the planning system.

Bob Neill: In our consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework we asked for views about supporting guidance and who could provide it. We are carefully considering all of the submissions that have been made to the consultation before announcing our intentions.
	The Natural Environment White Paper in setting out the Government's proposals for monitoring, including for biodiversity, explained that existing national indicators will be reviewed and streamlined. A new set of key indicators will be developed for spring 2012 including a new set of biodiversity indicators for the Biodiversity Strategy for England.

Rural Areas: Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what weighting he gives to the additional cost of delivering services in rural areas when calculating formula grant.

Bob Neill: The following table shows the judgmental sparsity top-ups, which reflect the additional cost of delivering services in rural areas, included in the relative needs formulae in the 2011-12 settlement.
	
		
			 Relative needs formula Percentage allocated using judgmental sparsity top-up 
			 Local authority education functions 12.5 
			 Older people’s personal social services 0.43 
			 Police 0.5 
			 District-level environmental, protective and cultural services 3.7

Social Rented Housing

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the proportion of tenants of social landlords who are of working age and whose homes will be deemed to be underoccupied on 1 April 2013 in (a) England and (b) Stockport constituency.

Andrew Stunell: The latest available estimate is that 8% of social rented sector households with a working age tenant were under-occupying their accommodation in 2009-10. This estimate is a three-year average based on data from the 2007-08 Survey of English Housing and the 2008-09 and 2009-10 English Housing Surveys. Under-occupation is measured according to the Bedroom Standard. Households are said to be under-occupying their accommodation if they have two or more bedrooms more than they need according to the Bedroom Standard. An estimate for April 2013 is not available.
	Data are not available at the constituency level.

Social Rented Housing: Offenders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to local housing authorities to facilitate the exclusion from publicly-funded social housing provision of persistent and prolific offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: Currently, with certain limited exceptions, anyone is eligible to be allocated social housing. The Localism Act 2011 will give local authorities the power to determine who qualifies or does not qualify to go on their housing waiting list. Local authorities will be able to use this power to exclude persistent and prolific offenders from social housing, if they so choose.
	We will shortly be issuing for consultation new statutory social housing allocations guidance to local authorities which will encourage them to make full use of the new and existing flexibilities within the allocation legislation.
	We have also recently finished consulting on proposals to speed up the process for evicting persistent ‘neighbours from hell’ and to allow social tenants to be evicted where they have been convicted for offences related to violent disorder beyond their local neighbourhood.

Social Rented Housing: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has had with the third sector on provision of social housing in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Andrew Stunell: As part of the affordable homes programme, the Homes and Communities Agency has undertaken a number of meetings and seminars for registered providers (mainly housing associations) in the West Midlands area. The Homes and Communities Agency also attends the quarterly regional committee meetings held by the National Housing Federation—the trade association of housing associations.
	The Homes and Communities Agency has held regular meetings with partners to ensure optimum delivery in Coventry. In the Coventry and Warwickshire area, the Homes and Communities Agency is now working with 13 registered provider partners to sign contracts under the affordable homes programme. To date, contracts have been signed with eight registered provider partners to deliver homes in the Coventry and Warwickshire area. Of these contracted offers, registered providers have confirmed the level of firm and indicative units they will provide in the Coventry and Warwickshire area. In Coventry specifically, the current level of planned affordable homes delivery stands at 525 units. The Homes and Communities Agency is still in the process of signing contracts with registered providers and figures may change.
	The Homes and Communities Agency is also discussing with partners in Coventry the opportunities through the empty homes and community-led development funding, with them being encouraged to work with local authorities and the Homes and Communities Agency to bring forward further delivery in this area.

Third Sector: Finance

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the third sector of reductions in funding for local authorities.

Andrew Stunell: Local spending decisions are a matter for local councils but there is no excuse to target the voluntary sector disproportionately.
	We are working closely with the third sector to assess capacity and provide support, for example through the Transition Fund and Big Society Capital and we are looking together at opportunities for the voluntary and community sector to benefit from local authority commissioning.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish a new planning policy statement on Traveller sites to replace circulars 01/2006 and 04/2007.

Bob Neill: The Government published their draft new planning policy for Traveller sites for consultation in April. The consultation closed in August. We are currently considering the consultation responses and intend to publish the new policy as soon as possible.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he intends to respond to the question tabled by the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 21 November 2011 regarding home starts. [R]

Grant Shapps: The question tabled by the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich was answered on 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 1025W.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to introduce a bonus for each new apprenticeship in a small business.

John Hayes: Government are committed to helping small employers take on an apprentice. That is why we recently announced that small employers will be eligible for an incentive payment of £1,500 to take on a new apprentice aged 16-24. Funding will be available for up to 40,000 apprentices.
	The National Apprenticeships Service are finalising the detailed implementation of this new scheme, and we expect to announce final eligibility criteria, and details of how to access the programme soon. We expect the scheme to commence by April 2012.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) staff reductions and (b) organisational changes in his Department occasioned by savings requirements on the delivery of programmes for the National Apprenticeship Service in each Government office region.

John Hayes: This Government have funded record levels of growth in apprenticeships. We are committed to further growth in the number of apprenticeships across the country.
	The restructuring of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has had no effect on the delivery of the apprenticeship programme by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). However, the National Apprenticeship Service is housed within the Skills Funding Agency and is contributing to the overall 33% administration savings target which has been set for the agency by the end of the spending review period. The chief executive of the NAS and the chief executive of Skills Funding are working closely together to continue to secure effective delivery of apprenticeships. These administrative savings will enable them to operate more efficiently while safeguarding the delivery of the apprenticeships programme.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he proposes that the new apprenticeship proposals outlined under the Government's youth contract scheme should be delivered through the National Apprenticeship Service's existing regional structures.

John Hayes: On 25 November the Government announced as part of the Youth Contract that they would increase the number of incentive payments available to small employers for taking on apprentices aged 16-24 to 40,000. The National Apprenticeships Service has been asked to work up a detailed implementation plan for the incentives scheme—which will commence by April next year.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether his Department plans to provide additional (a) staff and (b) other resources to the National Apprenticeship Service to assist the delivery of apprenticeships for young people aged between 16 and 24 years;
	(2)  whether his Department plans to provide additional (a) staff and (b) other resources to the National Apprenticeship Service to assist in the delivery of apprenticeship places from the Government's Youth Contract scheme.

John Hayes: The Department expects the National Apprenticeship Service to deliver the new initiatives within existing staff resources in line with the Government's objective to prioritise support for young people.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff the National Apprenticeship Service (a) had in 2010-11 and (b) has in 2011-12; and how many staff he expects it to have in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

John Hayes: The Department can report that the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) had 370 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the 2010-11 financial year.
	In respect of the 2011-12 financial year, the NAS currently has 280 FTE staff.
	The Department expects the NAS to have a maximum of 308 FTE staff by 2012-13 and maintain this number during 2013-14.
	Data as at 31 March 2011: NAS staffing peaked at over 400 staff during the year, following the transfer of National Employer Service staff from the Skills Funding Agency.
	Data as at 31 October 2011 include 29 staff who transferred in from UK Skills.

Business: Pilot Schemes

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department had with learning providers on the employer choice pilot prior to the Prime Minister's announcement of the initiative.

John Hayes: The UK Commission for Employment and Skills developed the initial vision for employer ownership, which directly helped shape the announcement of the pilot. The UK Commission is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) and commissioners comprise a social partnership that includes leaders from business, unions, third sector organisations and the further education (FE) and higher education (HE) sector. In developing the thinking of employer ownership, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the UK Commission engaged with a range of stakeholders that included representatives from the FE sector as well as business, unions and academics.
	BIS will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders to help shape the pilot going forward.

Business: Voluntary Organisations

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to opportunities for voluntary mentoring schemes to operate alongside his Department's planned business mentoring scheme.

Mark Prisk: Voluntary mentoring schemes are an integral part of this Department's work on mentoring. Just last month I announced new grant funding of £1.2 million to recruit and train 10,000 volunteer business mentors through the “Get Mentoring” project via the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI). This is on top of the 5,000 volunteer business mentors already announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on 4 November 2011. Boosting the number of mentors by another 15,000 will help more businesses get this valuable help and broaden the range of experienced people available through the mentoring network.
	The “Get Mentoring” project will build on the work we began with the British Bankers Association (BBA) in July when we launched Mentorsme, by helping to raise awareness of mentoring and increase the supply of experienced business people, who will then be accessible via mentoring organisations on Mentorsme.co.uk. With almost 11,000 business mentors already available through
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	the “Get Mentoring” project will bring the total number of business mentors available through the mentoring portal to at least 26,000 by September 2012.

Credit

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many firms have been removed from the Consumer Credit Public Register because the Office of Fair Trading has (a) withdrawn and (b) suspended their licence in each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: The following table shows, for the last five complete financial years, the counts of all consumer credit licences which have been surrendered ("withdrawn") or revoked. (Section 32 of the Act allows for the suspension of a licence as well as revocation but this specific power has not been used in the five years reported on). For the revocations, if no appeal was received, the determination- to-revoke date itself was used to decide which year to count them under. If an appeal was made, then the appeal decision date is used. Any cases with ongoing appeals are not included.
	In addition under section 37 on the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act), a licence held by one individual (as a sole trader) terminates if he (a) dies, or (b) is adjudged bankrupt, or (c) becomes a person who lacks capacity (within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005) to carry on the activities covered by the licence. I have not been able to collate the data in time. However, in the last two years, a link to the Insolvency Service data have been used which has seen a significant increase in terminations of type (b), to 200+ per year.
	
		
			 Number 
			  Licences revoked Licences surrendered 
			 2006-07 14 932 
			 2007-08 12 338 
			 2008-09 16 357 
			 2009-10 27 476 
			 2010-11 39 515

Food Procurement

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on food procurement in each year from 1997 to 2011.

Edward Davey: The Department’s catering services are contracted to BaxterStorey and the purchasing of food supplies is BaxterStorey's cost as it is a commercial contract.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many civil servants in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: The total number of staff that earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year is 267. This reply covers core BIS only and the figures have been based on basic salary and permanent allowances. Our agencies are replying separately, to obtain a reply from all our other partner organisations would incur disproportionate costs.
	224 earned between £65,000 and £95,000
	34 earned between £95,001 and £140,000
	Seven earned between £140,001 and £175,000
	Two earned over £175,001.
	L etter from Stephen Speed, dated  3 November 2011:
	The Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question how many civil servants in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.
	The Insolvency Service has 20 staff who earned more than £65,000 per annum in the last year, 18 of which fall into category (a) and two staff within category (b). No staff earn salaries within category (c) or (d).
	Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 2 November 2011
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 19 October 2011, UIN 76594 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Companies House employed three civil servants who earned more than £65,000 and one who earned more than £95,000 in the last year for which figures are available. We do not employ anyone earning more than £140,000.
	Letter from John Alty, dated 14 November 2011 
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 19 October 2011, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Intellectual Property Office is an Executive Agency of BIS. These figures are based on base pay and permanent allowances received for the tax year 2010/2011.
	The figures are:-
	(a) 39 people earned above £65,000.
	(b) 2 people earned above £95,000.
	(c) 0
	(d) 0
	Letter from Peter Mason, dated 3 November 2011
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (formerly National Weights and Measures Laboratory) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 19 October 2011 (reference 2010/7227) to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking how many civil servants in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.
	In the National Measurement Office there were two civil servants whose earnings were more than £65,000 in the financial year 2010/11. There were none with earnings more than £95,000.
	Letter from Emma Lord
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform asking how many unpaid and expenses-only internships (a) his Department and (b) each arm’s length body for which he is responsible employed in the last 12 months for which figures are available. 78368
	I am responding on behalf of the Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency (an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills). The UK Space Agency has not employed any unpaid and expenses-only interns in the last 12 months.
	Letter from Dr Vanessa V .  Lawrence, dated 3 November 2011
	As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to your question on the number of civil servants at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its associated bodies earning more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 with the information for Ordnance Survey.
	The information below is for the financial year 2010/11 and shows earnings determined as base pay plus permanent allowances:
	a) 7 (excluding those falling under groups b, c and d)
	b) 4 (excluding those falling under groups c and d)
	c) 0 (excluding group d)
	d) 2
	Letter from John Hirst, dated 9 November 2011
	I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 19 October 2011, UIN76594 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The information you asked for is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 2010-11 
			 Earnings (1) Number of staff 
			 More than £65,000 46 
			 More than £95,000 3 
			 More than £140,000 2 
			 More than £175,000 1 
			 (1) Includes basic pay plus any permanent allowances, overtime and performance related-pay 
		
	
	Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 2 December 2011
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking the Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) how many civil servants in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.
	Please be advised that the figures provided are for the year 1/4/2010 - 31/3/2011. In total, 167 civil servants were employed by Agency within the period who received (or where they terminated prior to 31/3/2011 had an annual earnings equivalent) within the pay bands quoted.
	
		
			  Number of employees 
			 (1) £65,000 to £94,999 151 
			 (2) £95,000 to £139,999 15 
			 (3) £140,000 to £174,999 1 
			 (4) £175,000 and above 0 
		
	
	Letter from David Evans, dated 15 November 2011
	You tabled the following Parliamentary Question in the House on 21 October.
	“To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many civil servants in his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000 (b) £95,000 (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available”.
	Land Registry, who are an Arms Length Body within the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, had (a) 41 staff (b) 3 staff (c) 1 member of staff and (d) none. These figures are for the period of 12 months to 30 September 2011.
	A number of these staff have now left Land Registry.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Edward Davey: The Department's policy is that staff salaries are paid into employees' bank accounts.
	An investigation as to whether each bank account relates to an individual or a limited company would be at disproportionate cost. Without such an investigation there is no evidence that any senior civil servants in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and its non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.
	Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 5 December 2011
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking the Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) whether any senior staff in (a) his department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.
	Please be advised that the Agency does not pay via any limited company in lieu of salary.
	Letter from John Hirst, dated 5 December 2011
	I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 30 November 2011, UIN85086 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Met Office has no staff paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.
	I hope this helps.
	Letter from John Alty, dated 5 December 2011
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled for 30 November 2011, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.
	No senior staff at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.
	Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 2 December 2011
	The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question whether any senior staff in a) his Department and b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.
	The Insolvency Service Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not pay any staff by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of salary. The Insolvency Service does not have a policy on such payments.
	Letter from Tim Moss, dated 1 December 2011
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 30 November 2011, UIN 85086 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	No senior staff in Companies House are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.
	Letter from Peter Mason, dated 5 December 2011
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 25 November 2011, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business. Innovation and Skills whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.
	NMO does not have any senior staff paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.
	Letter from David Williams
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments. 85086
	Please be advised that no senior staff within the UK Space Agency are paid by means of payments to a limited company.
	Letter from David Evans, dated 2 December 2011
	You tabled the following Parliamentary Question on 30 November 2011:
	“To ask the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments”.
	I can advise on behalf of Land Registry, who are an executive agency within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, that we do not pay any of our senior staff by means of payment to a limited company in lieu of salary.
	Letter from Vanessa V Lawrence, dated 2 December 2011
	As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to your question with the information on whether any senior staff at Ordnance Survey are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of salary.
	I can confirm that there are not and that all senior staff are paid salary or fees through payroll.

Departmental Recruitment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2011, Official Report, columns 324-5W, on Departmental recruitment, at what cost (a) Gatenby Sanderson and (b) Odgers Berndtson were employed on each occasion since May 2010.

Edward Davey: Since May 2010 Human Resources in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has employed the executive search companies of both Gatenby Sanderson and Odgers Berndtson once to undertake recruitment services.
	Gatenby Sanderson were paid £13,143.63 plus VAT and Odgers Berndtson were paid £16,355 plus VAT.

Directors: Equal Opportunities

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of recent progress on the targets set by Lord Davies of Abersoch relating to boardroom diversity.

Edward Davey: The monitoring report published by Cranfield university in October, six months after Lord Davies of Abersoch's Review, shows that steady progress is being made towards achieving gender diverse boardrooms. It is encouraging to see that women now make up 14.6% of FTSE 100 and 8.8% of FTSE 250 directors, up from 12.5% and 7.8% respectively in February. In addition there are now just 12 all-male FTSE 100 boards, down from 21 in February.
	Government are continuing to work with businesses, regulators, investors and others to ensure the recommendations are implemented effectively.

Employment Agencies: EU Law

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the letter from the Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, what the legal basis is for the effect on the Government's policy on the agency worker regulations of the agreement between the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress of May 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: Article 5.4 of the agency workers directive allows member states to establish alternative arrangements derogating from the principle of equal treatment on the basis of an agreement concluded between social partners (representatives of employees and employers) at national level. The directive text specifically states that such alternative arrangements may include the provision of a qualifying period for equal treatment.

Foreign Students

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his assessment is of potential changes to the level of education exports as a result of (a) student visa changes and (b) a rise in international student tuition fees.

David Willetts: Research published by BIS(1) estimates the total value of education exports to the UK at £14.1 billion (in 2008/09) and forecasts that total UK education exports could rise to £17.6 billion in 2015 and £26.6 billion by 2025. The research also attempted to forecast the impact of change in immigration policy and the rise in student fees and suggested that:
	The change in immigration policy might result in a decrease of £203 million in 2014/15, £232 million by 2019/20 and £268 million by 2024/25.
	The change in fee policy for EU and UK domiciled students studying for undergraduate degrees in England might result in a decrease of £339 million in 2014/15, £672 million by 2019/20 and £844 million by 2024/25. The estimate incorporates the fact that a large proportion of EU students coming to the UK to study would be contributing higher fees than is currently the case.
	The combined effect of immigration and tuition fee policy changes might result in a decrease of £542 million in 2014/15, £904 million in 2019/20 and £1,112 million in 2024/25.
	Separately, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) published its own impact assessment of the reform of the points-based immigration system in June this year, looking at impact over a shorter time scale. The assessment suggested that:
	The level of tuition fee income from international students might reduce by £22.5 million in 2011/12; £30.8 million in 2012/13; £59.4 million in 2013/14 and £57.9 million in 2014/15.
	The level of international student expenditure might reduce by £47.7 million in 2011/12; £95.1 million in 2012/13; £166.9 million in 2013/14 and £199.6 million in 2014/15. These figures did not include expenditure by students’ dependents, nor do they include the amount generated by students and their dependents through part-time work while in study, which is not the same as the post-study work route.
	The aggregate of these changes might result in a decrease of £70.2 million in 2011/12, £125.9 million in 2012/13, £229.3 million in 2013/14 and £257.5 million in 2014/15
	The UKBA report also included impact assessment for a number of other items that are not included in the calculation of education exports, such as loss of output from post-study work by students. We have not included detail of these items in this response.
	In presenting such estimates, it is important to note that they only represent a snapshot in time and can change. For example, UK work with Brazil on its “Science without Borders” programme could now see an additional 10,000 higher education students coming to study in the UK, under conditions which meet the new immigration policy.
	The Government are very clear that we should not be discouraging genuine international students from coming to the UK to study at genuine institutions. We fully appreciate the economic benefits and wider enrichment students bring to the UK. What we are attempting to do is tackle abuse of the system. The aim is to ensure that we get the balance right between providing a user-friendly route for bona fide students and education providers and keeping out those who would seek to abuse the system.
	In respect of non-EU students, higher education establishments are free to decide the level at which to set student fees. The Government have never regulated the fees charged by higher education institutions (HEIs) to international students. The market for international students is very competitive. Institutions watch closely what other institutions, in the UK and abroad, are charging when deciding on the level at which to set their own international student fees. It is not in any HEI’s interest to price itself out of the market.
	(1) London Economics Report “Estimating the value to the UK of Education Exports”, published by BIS in June 2011.

Further Education: Admissions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students were enrolled in each further education college in England in the academic year (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

John Hayes: I have made data available in the Libraries of the House showing the total number of Government-funded learners participating in further education (Learner Responsive provision) in general further education colleges by provider name and mode of attendance in 2008/09 and 2009/10.
	Information on further education and skills participation and achievement by mode of attendance is published in a supplementary table of a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 October 2011:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirst release/sfr_supplementary_tables/

Higher Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to encourage more flexible patterns of study in higher education.

David Willetts: We have consulted on how to encourage more flexible provision through the BIS Technical Consultation 'A new fit for purpose regulatory framework for the higher education sector'. The consultation closed on 27 October. We will give careful consideration to the range of responses and representations that we have received on this particular issue. A formal response to the consultation and to the Higher Education White Paper will both be made in early in 2012.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to implement an assessment framework to measure the number of potential students reached through additional outreach activities undertaken by institutions as part of their access agreements.

David Willetts: This is a matter for the director of fair access. The Office for Fair Access has confirmed that the director makes no assessment of the number of potential students reached through the additional outreach activities undertaken by institutions through their access agreements.
	The director of fair access publishes annual monitoring reports setting out the outcomes of the Office for Fair Access' annual monitoring of access agreements. The latest report is for 2009/10 and is available at
	http://www.offa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-04+2011-29-OFFA+HEFCE-Access-Agreement-standard-report-web.pdf
	In February, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I wrote to the director of fair access setting out our expectation that institutions should agree a programme of defined progress each year—set within a five-year time frame—in relation to appropriate benchmarks. We asked the director to move away from an assessment of inputs and processes to focus more sharply on the outcomes of outreach and other access activities. Universities will be able to focus their outreach and other activities where they will have the most impact.

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications have been submitted by residents of each parliamentary constituency in 2011-12 to date; and how many such applications had been submitted by the same time in 2010-11.

David Willetts: The latest information provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	UCAS has stated that year-on-year changes for all courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January 2012.

Higher Education: Admissions

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students outside the Higher Education Funding Council for England allocation of student numbers have enrolled on a higher education course with a (a) private company and (b) for-profit higher education provider in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the data requested. However in 2010, the Higher Education Statistics Agency completed a survey of private providers of higher education based on the 2009/10 academic year. Within the sample of providers there were 38,000 students on higher education courses. The full set of findings is available on the HESA website as follows:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2090/161/

Higher Education: Admissions

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students enrolled in designated higher education courses with (a) all private higher education providers and (b) for-profit higher education providers in each of the last five years; and how many studied (i) at each institution and (ii) in each subject area.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the data requested. However in 2010, the Higher Education Statistics Agency completed a survey of private providers of higher education based on the 2009/10 academic year. Within the sample of providers there were 38,000 students on higher education courses—these will not all have been studying on designated courses. The full set of findings is available on the HESA website as follows:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2090/1G1/
	The following table shows the numbers of English and EU-domiciled higher education students studying with private providers, who received some financial support via the Student Loans Company.
	
		
			 Academic year Number receiving financial support 
			 2006/07 3,300 
			 2007/08 2,800 
			 2008/09 3,300 
			 2009/10 4,200 
			 2010/11 5,900 
			 Notes: 1. The effective date at which the data are taken is at 31 August at the end of each academic year. 2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	These figures do not provide total numbers of students enrolled in designated higher education courses at private providers, as not all students obtain student support (for personal eligibility reasons or because they have pursued alternative funding means). As numbers are small, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by institution and course as this could identify individuals.

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the performance of the Office for Fair Access in ensuring that any higher education institution charging above £6,000 in tuition fees is linked to local schools and is part of a wider regional access network.

David Willetts: Institutions intending to charge more than the £6,000 basic amount for tuition must first demonstrate to the independent director of fair access what more they will do to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These plans are finalised in approved access agreements.
	Ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills wrote to the director of fair access on 10 February 2011 setting out the Government’s expectations about how he should approach the approval and monitoring of new access agreements. The guidance set out significantly increased expectations for the priority that institutions should give to fair access and widening participation. In particular, we identified the effectiveness of collaborative working on widening participation, recognising that many institutions were already doing this and that access agreements should build on that work. We also highlighted that such collaboration also encourages the sharing of good practice. Additionally, we suggested that the director would want to take into account the scale and nature of outreach work with schools, colleges and other organisations. The director mirrored Governments’ advice in his own guidance to the sector in March on how to develop access agreements.
	The director has done an excellent job in very demanding circumstances. I am pleased to see that institutions are pledging to put significantly more resource into access activities (more than £600 million by 2015/16 compared to just over £400 million in 2011/12). Over £100 million of that investment has been earmarked by institutions for outreach activities.
	Institutions now have to deliver what they have agreed and make the progress they have indicated.

Higher Education: North-east England

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications had been submitted by residents of (a) Stockton North constituency, (b) the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) the North-East in the 2011-12 admissions cycle by 21 November 2011; and how many such applications had been submitted on the same date in the 2010-11 admissions cycle.

David Willetts: The latest information is in the tables and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).
	UCAS has stated that year-on-year changes for all courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January.
	
		
			 All applicants to UCAS as at 21 November by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (1) 2011-12 (2) 
			 Stockton North constituency 273 147 
			 The borough of Stockton-on-Tees 588 389 
			 Tees Valley 1,792 1,292 
			 North East 5,392 4,237 
			 (1) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. 
		
	
	
		
			 On time applicants to courses with an 15 October deadline (1)  by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (2) 2011-12 (3) 
			 Stockton North constituency 32 27 
			 The borough of Stockton-on-Tees 85 84 
			 Tees Valley 254 227 
			 North East 1,131 1,073 
			 (1) These are courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, and courses at Oxbridge. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013.

Higher Education: North-east England

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications had been submitted by residents in (a) Darlington constituency, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) the North-East in the 2011-12 admissions cycle by 21 November 2011; and how many such applications had been submitted on the same date in the 2010-11 admissions cycle.

David Willetts: The latest information is in the tables and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).
	UCAS has stated that year-on-year changes for all has courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January.
	
		
			 All applicants to UCAS as at 21 November by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (1) 2011-12 (2) 
			 Darlington constituency 251 204 
			 The Tees Valley 1,792 1,292 
			 The North East 5,392 4,237 
			 (1) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. 
		
	
	
		
			 On time applicants to courses with an 15 October deadline (1)  by parliamentary constituency/region 
			  Application cycle 
			 Area of domicile 2010-11 (2) 2011-12 (3) 
			 Darlington constituency 41 28 
			 The Tees Valley 254 227 
			 The North East 1,131 1,073 
			 (1) These are courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, and courses at Oxbridge. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013.

Higher Education: Regulation

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to publish the (a) consultation responses and (b) Government response to his Department's consultation on a new regulatory framework for the higher education sector.

David Willetts: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2011, Official Report, columns 517-18W.

Higher Education: Regulation

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) universities, (b) private and for-profit providers and (c) students on his proposed changes to the Higher Education Regulatory Framework.

David Willetts: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I meet regularly with a wide range of current and prospective higher education providers and with representative bodies in the higher education sector. Discussions over proposed changes to the higher education regulatory framework have featured in many of these meetings. A quarterly-updated list of all BIS ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff
	In addition, BIS officials held two stakeholder meetings as part of the technical consultation on the proposed regulatory framework, which ran until 27 October. 60 delegates were invited from a wide range of bodies in the higher education sector, including representatives of higher education institutions, further education colleges, alternative providers, mission groups, unions, including the National Union for Students, partner bodies and other representative bodies.

Higher Education: Scholarships

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of university applicants who will apply to the National Scholarship Programme for the academic year 2012-13; and how many applicants he expects to be awarded funding under the programme.

David Willetts: The National Scholarship Programme is designed to help people of all ages whose family income is no greater than £25,000 per annum. Higher education institutions set their own criteria for determining entitlement to an award from among this broad group of people. Institutions will offer a range of support from a menu which includes tuition fee waivers or discounts, subsidised accommodation and other institutional support, and a cash bursary—capped at £1,000.
	All institutions that intend to charge more than the basic rate for tuition from 2012 are required to participate in the programme and contribute match funding. Universities are responsible for advertising their criteria and making the awards. The Government have made no estimate of the number of students who are likely to apply to universities.
	In the first year, the Government will contribute £50 million towards the NSP with the minimum level for an award set at £3,000 for each eligible full-time student. That would mean around 17,000 students would benefit. Of course the actual number is likely to be larger than this when institutions' match funding is taken into account as well as awards made to students studying part-time. By 2014/15 when the programme is fully operational, the Government's contribution to the National Scholarship Programme will be three times higher and, with match funding, up to 100,000 students a year could be being supported.

Higher Education: Statistics

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Higher Education White Paper, what progress he has made in achieving his aim of reducing the burden of data collection on higher education institutions.

David Willetts: In the White Paper, we made a commitment to work with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) through its periodical data review process. Reviews have recently been completed for the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey, and the Staff data stream. These reviews will result in changes for 2011/12 and 2012/13 respectively. The Student and Estates data streams are currently under review.
	For the longer term, in the HE White Paper BIS asked the Higher Education Better Regulation Group (HEBRG) to progress an exploratory project to transform the information landscape of the HE sector, which will apply a “collect once, use many times” approach to data collection. This expects to report in summer 2012 on the feasibility of redesigning the information landscape to reduce the burden of reporting on higher education providers.

ICT: Training

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department provides to colleges and training providers to train people as computer numerical control operators.

John Hayes: As set out in my Department's Skills Investment Statement 2011-14 (1 December 2011), overall investment in adult further education (FE) and skills will be £3.8 billion in the 2012-13 financial year.
	The Skills Funding Agency has responsibility for the funding of post-19 further education and skills training and allocates budgets to individual FE colleges and training organisations, it does not allocate funding at the qualification level.
	From the 2011/12 academic year we introduced a single adult skills budget. This will provide FE colleges and training organisations with the flexibility to offer the range and balance of programmes, from basic skills to higher-level skills, in the mode of delivery that will best meet the needs of learners, employers and communities in line with demand.

Industrial Disputes

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many responses from small businesses his Department received to its Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation.

Edward Davey: This information is available in “Resolving Workplace Disputes: Government response to the consultation” which was published on 23 November 2011, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Manufacturing Fellowships

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many manufacturing fellowships have been taken up (a) nationally, (b) in the East Midlands and (c) in Leicester.

David Willetts: The Department provides funding to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which then provide a range of fellowship support.
	Between 1997 and 2010, of the 285 fellowship proposals received by EPSRC classified as manufacturing, the following were awarded:
	(a) 58 nationally;
	(b) two in the east midlands; and
	(c) one in Leicester.
	In 2011 EPSRC developed a new approach to fellowships. The first call for EPSRC fellowships in manufacturing was announced in March 2011 and EPSRC expects to award the first fellowships in March 2012. EPSRC has received no applications from institutions in the east midlands to date.

Maternity Pay

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on simplifying maternity pay and benefits.

Edward Davey: BIS officials have been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, and other Government Departments, on the development of proposals following on from the closure of the Modern Workplaces consultation on 8 August 2011. The proposals will deliver the Government's commitment to a new system of flexible parental leave to be implemented in April 2015. This will include looking at the current system of maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints his Department has received on decisions of the Office of the Adjudicator for Higher Education (a) since May 2010 and (b) in each year since its creation.

David Willetts: There are no centrally held statistics on the number of complaints to the Department on decisions made by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA). The OIA provides an independent service and as such the Government do not review its decisions.

Private Sector: Employment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which former public sector workers have found employment in the private sector.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The latest Office for Budget Responsibility forecast is for overall employment to grow by around one million between 2011 and 2017, with a fall of around 700,000 in public sector employment more than offset by a 1.7 million rise in the number employed in the private sector.
	No specific assessment has been made of the extent to which workers previously employed in the public sector subsequently move to private sector jobs, although the labour market is highly fluid. In the last year Jobcentre Plus has taken over three million new vacancies and across the labour market as a whole there have been six million moves into work or between jobs.
	Most people who lose their job and become unemployed are able to leave quickly, with over half of new JSA claims lasting less than three months and three-quarters lasting less than six months. Help and support is available through Jobcentre Plus for all individuals affected by job losses regardless of the part of the economy in which they were previously employed.

Procurement: EU Action

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what safeguards (a) he will encourage his EU counterparts to put in place and (b) are already in place to ensure that there is an equitable advertising and procurement policy enforced across all EU member states for Government-backed manufacturing and servicing contracts relating to (i) the emerging off-shore wind industry and (ii) other industries.

Mark Prisk: EU public procurement is governed by the 2004 European directive which requires all contracts for goods, services and works over certain thresholds to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to allow equitable access to business across the EU. An equivalent directive applies to utilities. The UK Government advertise all central Government tendering opportunities over £10,000 on Contracts Finder. Government will negotiate in the EU for a radical simplification of the relevant directives, to make it easier for businesses to access contracts let by all member states across the EU.
	In the UK, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General announced the outcomes of the Government Growth Review on public procurement on 21 November 2011. Government will now publish medium-term rolling demand pipelines on areas of significant Government spend by April 2012; will engage strategically with industry supply chains to identify the key capabilities needed to meet this demand; and undertake better pre-procurement engagement with supply chains around sub-contracting opportunities for specific projects. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office will be working with the wider public sector and regulated industries to apply these reforms beyond central Government.

Professional Organisations

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which systems are in place to monitor the work of chartered institute organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Nicholas Clegg: I have been asked to reply.
	The Privy Council has no monitoring role in respect of Chartered bodies. The effect of a Charter is to free the recipient body from Government control, and the only power retained by the Privy Council is the reactive one of considering and approving amendments proposed by a body to its Charter or by-laws.
	The work of the chartered accountancy bodies is monitored by the Professional Oversight Board of the Financial Reporting Council.

Regional Growth Fund

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 802W, on the Regional Growth Fund, what guidance his Department provides to companies bidding for Regional Growth Funding on the proportion of grant funding that should be spent on due diligence.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 24 November 2011
	The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) ‘Information for Applicants’ document available on the BIS website described the due diligence requirement. However, no guidance was provided on the provided on the proportion of grant funding that should be spent on due diligence as it for beneficiaries to discuss the cost of providing due diligence with practitioners.

Regional Growth Fund

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on publishing the precise amounts allocated from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: I have regular discussions with officials concerning the Regional Growth Fund. In order not to prejudice the commercial interests of bidders conditional allocations are not published. Once due diligence and contracting are complete amounts awarded to individual bidders will be made available.

Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the proportion of research and development undertaken nationally which is performed by companies with more than (a) 250 and (b) 1,000 employees.

David Willetts: The Office for National Statistics collects data on research and development performed in UK businesses. The most recent data was published in November 2011 and relates to research and development (R&D) conducted in 2010.
	In 2010, the proportion of R&D performed within businesses with more than (a) 250 employees was 79% and (b) 1,000 employees was 56%.

Royal Mail: Glasgow

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the future of customer service operations at the Glasgow Mail Centre.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has not had any discussions with Royal Mail on the future of customer service operations at the Glasgow Mail Centre.
	This is an operational matter for Royal Mail and I have therefore asked the chief executive, Moya Greene, to respond directly to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Scholarships

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment and monitoring he is conducting of the qualifying criteria imposed by individual colleges for eligibility for the national scholarship programme; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England has commissioned CFE Research and Consultancy, an independent research and consultancy body, to undertake an evaluation of the National Scholarship Programme.
	The first phase of the project, running until early next year, will look at the set up of the programme, and will include an analysis of the eligibility criteria being adopted by participating universities and colleges.

Skills Funding Agency: Redundancy

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the operational effects of redundancies at the Skills Funding Agency in the next 12 months.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is responsible for allocating funding to further education (FE) colleges and training providers for post 19-education and skills training. The Government’s commitment to give more freedom to the FE sector means that the role of the SFA has changed significantly, and it no longer has a planning function. As a result it is now a much smaller organisation than it was 12 months ago.
	A new structure has been put in place which will enable the agency to operate more efficiently in its role of ensuring that public funding is allocated efficiently and effectively to meet the priorities set out in “New Challenges, New Chances”, which was published by the Government on 1 December.

Space Technology

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what space projects his Department supports; how much has been spent on each project to date; how much he plans to spend on each project in each of the next two years; what further projects are planned in each of the next two years; what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with HM Treasury on space issues; what the outcome was of such discussions; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The UK Space Agency has published a brochure describing the national space programme and projects 2011/12. It is available on the agency web site and explains more about each of the projects listed in the following table. Many are national instrument contributions to European Space Agency or international projects:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/publications
	The UK also invests directly through the European Space Agency in a broad range of space projects in science, Earth observation, telecommunications and technology. These are listed on the UK Space Agency website:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/missions
	The outcomes have been positive and are reflected in a number of ways. One is the creation of the agency and its spending review settlement for 2011 to 2015. Another has been the additional capital funding allocated in the spring budget and autumn statement of some £35.7 million. This will support the start of a new national space technology programme, national e-infrastructure for space, and a new and novel low cost radar satellite constellation. If successful these programmes could attract over £160 million of private finance. Discussions continue on the space aspects of the next EU multi-year financial perspective, and this will be decided in the timeline of the overall EU budget for 2014 to 2020.
	
		
			 Principal space projects and programmes managed by the UK Space Agency 
			 £ million 
			 Project Spend to date (including estimate for 2011/12) Planned 2012/13 Planned 2013/14 
			 JWST Mid IR Instrument 19 1 1 
			 GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium 8 3 3 
			 BepiColombo MIXS instrument 2.5 0.5 0.5 
			 LISA Pathfinder Test Package 5.5 1 1 
			 Swift instrument and operations 10 1 1 
			 STEREO instrument and operations 3 0.5 0.5 
			 Herschel SPIRE instrument and operations 18 1 0.5 
			 Planck instruments and operations 18 1.5 1 
			 Hinode instrument and operations 7 0.5 0.5 
			 Solar Orbiter instruments 3.5 2.5 2.5 
			 Euclid instruments 1 2 2 
			 Future science mission studies 3.5 1 1.5 
			 TechDemoSat-1(2) 2 4 1 
			 UKube-1 and follow-on 0.5 0.5 0.5 
			 ExoMars instruments and other national space exploration 22.5 5.5 5.5 
			 NovaSAR(3) 0 21 0 
			 National Space Technology Programme(4) 2.5 10.5 TBD 
			 Centre of Earth Observation Instrumentation 4 1 TBD 
			 (1 )All costs are rounded to nearest £0.5 million. (2 )Technology Strategy Board is lead funder with some funding (£0.5 million) from UK Space Agency. (3 )Fresh funding announced as part of autumn statement. (4 )£10M from UK Space Agency plus additional contributions from TSB, SEEDA and research councils.

Space Technology

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support he plans to provide to space exploration in each of the next two years; what recent reports he has received of assistance given to space exploration by the Government of (a) the US, (b) the Russian Federation and (c) each EU member state; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, provides funding to the United Kingdom Space Agency for space activities. The one exploration project currently being funded through the European Space Agency (ESA) is ExoMars/Aurora. This is a mission to explore the atmosphere and surface of Mars and is scheduled to be launched in two phases in 2016 and 2018. It is funded by the UK at an average of €14 million per year. In addition there is a nationally funded UK activity of £5.5 million per year to provide instruments for the ExoMars mission and to exploit the science and technology of this and other Mars exploration missions.
	The United States was scheduled to be a major partner in ExoMars, but the latest report indicates that they are reconsidering their support with a view to a decision in February 2012. I have also been advised that the Russian Federation are also considering whether they can offer support and a position may be known by early 2012.
	ESA member states have agreed to support the ESA ExoMars programme as shown in the following table. Most countries also have a national programme to support instruments. Through ESA, member states are studying options for a Mars mission to follow ExoMars with the ultimate goal of returning samples of material from Mars for study in terrestrial laboratories. Germany, Spain and Portugal are also funding studies with ESA of a proposed robotic lunar lander mission to be launched around 2018.
	
		
			 Participating states ExoMars % ExoMars M€ - 2008 ec 
			 Austria 1.25 12.5 
			 Belgium 2.61 26.1 
			 Denmark 0.55 5.5 
			 France 12.9 129.0 
			 Germany 8.96 89.6 
			 Italy 27.82 278.2 
			 The Netherlands 1.24 12.4 
			 Norway 0.26 2.6 
			 Portugal 0.21 2.1 
			 Spain 5.83 58.3 
			 Sweden 0.62 6.2 
			 Switzerland 4.38 43.8 
			 United Kingdom 16.5 165.0 
			 Canada 1.91 19.1 
			 Total subscribed 85.04 850.4 
		
	
	ExoMars is in a critical position, with European support remaining solid, but with the USA reconsidering its role. Once the USA and Russian Federation views are known, ESA will determine the way forward by agreement of its member states.

Space Technology: Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has offered the Russian Federation assistance with the Phobos-Grunt space mission.

David Willetts: Assistance to the Russian Federation has been provided through the European Space Agency (ESA) using capabilities partially supported by the UK as a member of ESA. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has not offered help directly.

Students: Debts

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the average debt that will be accrued by each person who enrols on an access to higher education course in 2013-14 and proceeds to complete a three-year Bachelor's degree.

David Willetts: We estimate, based on figures for the average cost per enrolment of an Access to Higher Education course in 2010/11, that the average loan for such a course undertaken by someone aged 24 or above in 2013/14 will be around £2,500. For those participants who are under 24 such courses will remain grant funded.
	For those who subsequently begin a three-year degree course in 2014/15 and take-up both a fee and maintenance loan every year, the additional amount borrowed could on average be around £38,000.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the thresholds will be for interest rate increments on the repayment of student loans taken out from the 2012-13 academic year; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Under our proposals, interest on student loans will accrue at (retail prices index) RPI + 3% up until the date when the borrower is due to repay. Full-time students will become liable to repay in the April after they leave their course, and part time students will become liable to repay in the April which falls four years after the start date of their course or the April after they leave their course if that is sooner.
	After that date, interest will accrue at a rate of RPI for those earning £21,000 or less. Between £21,000 and £41,000 a linear scale will apply, with interest increasing gradually from RPI to RPI +3%. Those earning £41,000 or more will accrue interest at RPI +3%.

Students: Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which designated courses at each higher education provider he has authorised to receive student loan funding in the last year; and how much student loan funding was allocated to each designated course.

David Willetts: Eligible full and part-time higher education courses at publicly-funded educational institutions in the UK are automatically designated for student support. Full-time distance learning courses and eligible higher education courses at private higher education providers may be specifically designated on a course-by-course basis at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	I will place in the Libraries of the House a list showing which courses the Secretary of State specifically designated for student support purposes between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011. This includes postgraduate courses which are designated for the purpose of disabled student allowances only.
	I will also place in the Libraries of the House a list showing the total amount of tuition fee loan and maintenance loan that was paid to eligible English domiciled students on specifically designated full-time courses at private higher education providers during the 2010/11 academic year.

Students: Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of student loan funding was awarded to students studying at private higher education institutions in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The proportion of total student loan funding awarded to students studying at private higher education institutions is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Academic year: 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Maintenance loans 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 
		
	
	
		
			 Fee loans 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 
			 All loans 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Government will publish its response to his Department's consultation entitled Consultation on potential early repayment mechanisms for students loans; and if he will publish a (a) summary of consultation responses and (b) list of respondents.

David Willetts: The consultation on potential early repayment mechanisms closed on 20 September 2011. The Department will respond in due course. This response will include a summary of all consultation responses and a list of the respondents.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what modelling he plans to undertake to assess the potential effects of his Department's proposals to introduce further education loans for people aged over 24.

John Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) will publish both a full impact assessment of further education (FE) loans and an equality impact assessments of FE loans, due March 2012.
	The impact assessments will be informed by research and analysis commissioned by BIS. This will include the results of the Online Learner Panel Survey carried out by Opinion Panel, TNS-BMRB work with potential FE students to understand how FE loans might affect their decision to study and further research if deemed necessary.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many submissions he has received in respect of his Department's consultation on plans to introduce further education loans for people aged over 24.

John Hayes: The Department received 132 separate responses to the further education (FE) loans consultation. In addition, we received feedback from 117 individual learners through the online learner panel.
	The consultation has therefore given us a wide range of views, including from public and private learning providers, sector representatives, small and large businesses and other Government bodies.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he plans to make of the number of women likely to be affected by his Department's proposal to introduce loans for further education study for people aged over 24.

John Hayes: In preparing an initial impact assessment for further education (FE) loans the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has estimated that in 2014/15 (the first full year of further education loans) the number of women learners who would start courses and be eligible for an FE loan would be in the region of 100,000.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has commissioned TNS-BMRB to carry out research with future FE students to understand how FE loans might affect their decision to study. The research will include interviews with people from a range of backgrounds including women, and the results will inform both the full impact assessment of FE loans and an equality impact assessment of FE loans, due to be published in March 2012.

Students: Merseyside

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average student loan taken out in St Helens South and Whiston constituency was in each year since 2005.

David Willetts: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			 Average student loan paid to those taking out loans, St Helens South and Whiston constituency (1) 
			  Average loan paid (£) (2) 
			 Academic year 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 
			 Tuition Fee Loan(3) n/a 2,070 2,480 2,810 2,930 
			 Maintenance Loan (for living costs) 3,240 3,290 3,200 3,160 3,270 
			 (1) Based on address at time of application. (2) Rounded to nearest £10. (3) Tuition Fee Loans were available from academic year 2006/07. Note: Figures are taken as at 31 August at the end of each academic year. Source: Student Loans Company (SLC)

Students: Sponsorship

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 632W, on students: sponsorship, what steps he plans to take in the event that an insufficient number of employers and charities offer sponsorship for university places.

David Willetts: Pursuant to my answer of 14 November 2011, Official  Report, column 632W, a response to the Higher Education White Paper will be published in due course. We have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England for advice on increasing the opportunities to attract employer or charity sponsorship for individual places, provided they do not create a cost liability for Government, in the context of their winter consultation on teaching funding and student number controls for 2013/14 and beyond.

Technology Strategy Board

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value is of unallocated funding overseen by the Technology Strategy Board in each of the next five years.

David Willetts: The Technology Strategy Board's agreed core budget for 2011/12 is £317 million. I cannot be specific on future year allocations, but it will be in the order of £300 million per annum in the current spending review period.
	The Technology Strategy Board's current uncommitted funding over the remainder of the spending review period is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2011/12 0 
			 2012/13 106 
			 2013/14 199 
			 2014/15 215

Trade Promotion: Olympic Games 2012

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding has been allocated to the British Business Embassy to be held at Lancaster House during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 24 November 2011
	The estimated budget for the British Business Embassy is £3.28 million, of which UKTI will contribute £2.53 million, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will provide £0.75 million and sponsorship will be sought of £0.6 million.

Training: Finance

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the statement on page 57 of the Autumn Statement (Cm 8231) that the Government will provide £4 million to Skills for Logistics to improve training approaches to increase the competitiveness and productivity of the logistics sector; how will these funds be allocated; who can apply for funding; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Skills for Logistics has secured investment funding from the Employer Investment Fund administered by the UK Commission, of up to £4 million to undertake four strands of work over a two-year period. The investment funding is to work with employers to enhance the attractiveness of the sector to young people and individuals currently not employed in the sector. The investment will build skills solutions that ultimately inform and lay the foundations for a Modern Logistics Guild. This investment works with co investment from larger employers who are looking to establish an employer bond which will underwrite loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for apprenticeship training.

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his autumn statement of 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 808, what representations he received about changes to Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations before making his autumn statement.

Edward Davey: As part of my ongoing dialogue with business some have raised concerns that the current Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations gold-plate the acquired rights directive and are overly bureaucratic. I have also had formal representations from business concerning the implementation of the directive in other member states. Recognising that this is a complex area of legislation I have launched a call for evidence to gather views from a wide range of stakeholders in considering the case for change.

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his autumn statement of 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 808, whether he plans to launch a public consultation on reform on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

Edward Davey: There will be a formal consultation on any possible changes to the current Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations should responses from the call for evidence launched on 23 November 2011 indicate that there is a case for change.

Internships

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of employees who are employed as interns in the (a) political, (b) legal, (c) media, (d) fashion and (e) financial services sector;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people undertaking (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the average length of an internship;
	(4)  what proportion of people who undertook an unpaid internship went on to paid employment at the place of their internship in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The Department does not hold this information. The graduate internship market is diverse and we welcome the numerous quality opportunities which both public and private employers provide. We will continue to encourage employers to ensure fair access to internship opportunities by advertising their vacancies openly and transparently, and by providing some form of financial support. The Government are clear that those who are entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.

Internships

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to bring forward proposals for a legal definition of an internship.

David Willetts: We have no such plans. Internships are not defined in law: under employment and national minimum wage law, individuals can be employees, self-employed, workers, volunteers or voluntary workers.
	An intern's legal status is determined by the nature of the activities they undertake and the relationship with their employer. We have updated our guidance on Business Link and Directgov to provide more clarity on internships for employers and individuals.

Internships

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what advice he has received on the legality of unpaid internships.

David Willetts: As part of the Government's work on examining options on the treatment of interns in relation to the national minimum wage, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has considered the legal issues associated with unpaid internships. However, advice from Government lawyers is subject to legal professional privilege. The legal advice relating to unpaid internships is no different to any other legal advice in that regard.
	The Department has recently updated guidance on Business Link and Directgov to provide more clarity on internships for employers and individuals.

Internships: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of people undertaking (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships in Redditch.

David Willetts: This Department does not hold this information. The graduate internship market is diverse and we welcome the numerous quality opportunities which both public and private employers provide. We will continue to encourage employers to ensure fair access to internship opportunities by advertising their vacancies openly and transparently, and by providing some form of financial support. The Government are clear that those who are entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.